title: Ageing-related stereotypes in memory: When the beliefs come true.
abstract: Age-related stereotype concerns culturally shared beliefs about the inevitable decline of memory with age. In this study, stereotype priming and stereotype threat manipulations were used to explore the impact of age-related stereotype on metamemory beliefs and episodic memory performance. Ninety-two older participants who reported the same perceived memory functioning were divided into two groups: a threatened group and a non-threatened group (control). First, the threatened group was primed with an ageing stereotype questionnaire. Then, both groups were administered memory complaints and memory self-efficacy questionnaires to measure metamemory beliefs. Finally, both groups were administered the Logical Memory task to measure episodic memory, for the threatened group the instructions were manipulated to enhance the stereotype threat. Results indicated that the threatened individuals reported more memory complaints and less memory efficacy, and had lower scores than the control group on the logical memory task. A multiple mediation analysis revealed that the stereotype threat effect on the episodic memory performance was mediated by both memory complaints and memory self-efficacy. This study revealed that stereotype threat impacts belief in one's own memory functioning, which in turn impairs episodic memory performance.
authors.affiliation: a UMR CNRS 7295, CeRCA «Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage», University of Tours , Tours , France.
authors.forename: Badiâa
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bouazzaoui
authors.affiliation: b EA 4139, «Laboratoire de Psychologie, Santé et Qualité de vie», University of Bordeaux 2 , Bordeaux , France.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Follenfant
authors.affiliation: b EA 4139, «Laboratoire de Psychologie, Santé et Qualité de vie», University of Bordeaux 2 , Bordeaux , France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ric
authors.affiliation: a UMR CNRS 7295, CeRCA «Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage», University of Tours , Tours , France.
authors.forename: Séverine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fay
authors.affiliation: c UMR CNRS 7295, CeRCA «Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage», University of Poitiers , Poitiers , France.
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Croizet
authors.affiliation: b EA 4139, «Laboratoire de Psychologie, Santé et Qualité de vie», University of Bordeaux 2 , Bordeaux , France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Atzeni
authors.affiliation: a UMR CNRS 7295, CeRCA «Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage», University of Tours , Tours , France.
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Taconnat
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013240:Stereotyping
keywords: Ageing; Memory; Metamemory; Stereotype threat