Article Review: A ‘Senior Moment’ or a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?
Hi friends.
I’d like to share with you today some thoughts on an article I read about 6 weeks ago. I was so delighted to see it because it confirms something I’ve been telling people for years. This article keeps popping into my mind, so I wanted to share it with you.
This article by Benedict Carey appeared in The New York Times on July 18, 2006. It opens with these words: “Resigning yourself to old age may produce the very mental lapses that most people fear will strike them in their golden years.” What a wake-up call!
Now, I’ve been reminding people for a long time that we are as old as we feel, and that there are many things we can do to feel younger. But here is another new spin on this idea. Mental age may be determined by attitude. Wow!
Mr. Carey reports on a recent study that appeared in the journal Social Cognition, on memory. The study found that “men and women in late middle age underperformed on a standard memory test when told they were part of a study including people over age 70.” The authors of the study findings concluded that being included in a group of older people affected the memories of the younger people. They believe that being included with the older group served as a reminder of the link between age and “memory slippage.”
Scientists call this kind of response a “stereotype effect.” This has been widely documented in many groups of people. The study was underwritten by the National Institute on Aging. It is the first study of its kind to document this effect so clearly in a “borderline group.” It seems that the negative images of aging that we are exposed to almost every day in the media, in jokes, and in negative stereotypes can not only affect the memory performance of retirees, but even of people who have not yet reached retirement age. The “stereotype effect” was most pronounced in people who were most concerned about memory loss and aging.
The study is very interesting. I encourage you to read the entire article.
It is interesting to think that the negative stereotypes that we believe we ignore still have such a powerful and negative effect on our minds. So let’s start our own movement and stop using the negative stereotypes and the “senior moment” jokes. Let’s put some positive images and feedback out there for the world to see. We can choose to exclude negative feedback and images from our thinking. And if those of us who are keeping our minds sharp know that we haven’t lost anything, can keep providing positive images and feedback, maybe we can collectively save others from the damaging effects of the stereotypes. At the very least, let’s make sure the stereotypes that seep into our unconscious awareness don’t become self-fulfilling prophecies.