title: Subliminal strengthening: improving older individuals' physical function over time with an implicit-age-stereotype intervention.
abstract: Negative age stereotypes that older individuals assimilate from their culture predict detrimental outcomes, including worse physical function. We examined, for the first time, whether positive age stereotypes, presented subliminally across multiple sessions in the community, would lead to improved outcomes. Each of 100 older individuals (age=61-99 years, M=81) was randomly assigned to an implicit-positive-age-stereotype-intervention group, an explicit-positive-age-stereotype-intervention group, a combined implicit- and explicit-positive-age-stereotype-intervention group, or a control group. Interventions occurred at four 1-week intervals. The implicit intervention strengthened positive age stereotypes, which strengthened positive self-perceptions of aging, which, in turn, improved physical function. The improvement in these outcomes continued for 3 weeks after the last intervention session. Further, negative age stereotypes and negative self-perceptions of aging were weakened. For all outcomes, the implicit intervention's impact was greater than the explicit intervention's impact. The physical-function effect of the implicit intervention surpassed a previous study's 6-month-exercise-intervention's effect with participants of similar ages. The current study's findings demonstrate the potential of directing implicit processes toward physical-function enhancement over time.
authors.affiliation: Social and Behavioral Sciences Division, School of Public Health, Yale University becca.levy@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Becca R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Yale University.
authors.forename: Corey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pilver
authors.affiliation: Department of Demography, University of California, Berkeley Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley.
authors.forename: Pil H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Yale University.
authors.forename: Martin D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Slade
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D013240:Stereotyping; D013360:Subliminal Stimulation
keywords: age stereotypes; aging; implicit; intervention; physical function; self-perceptions of aging; stereotypes