Age-Related Memory

¶ … population of seniors grows in number, an understanding of how age affects memory becomes increasingly important. Yet the awareness of age-related memory loss can itself be a problem, causing a type of self-fulfilling prophecy known as stereotype threat. Stereotype threat refers to the sense of threat a person experiences when identifying with a stereotype. In the case of aging, a person who has been continually reminded of age-related memory loss might therefore perform worse on memory recall tests.

Stereotype threat can be triggered directly, as when people are told that aging reduces memory performance, or indirectly, such as simply being shown the word "senile." Stereotype bias can further enhance age-related memory loss by causing a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, there are different types of memory functions. Memory functions can be loosely grouped into two categories: implicit and explicit memory. Explicit memory refers to the active and purposeful recollection of people, places, things, and details.

Implicit memory refers to the more automatic, less conscious knowledge of how to perform tasks like riding a bicycle. Prior research has shown that age adversely affects explicit memory more so than implicit memory, yet few studies have examined the concurrent role that stereotype threat plays on age-related implicit vs. explicit memory. Hypothesis Eich, et al. (2014) set out to study the relationship between stereotype threat and performance on memory-related activities. The researchers seek to clarify whether stereotype threat impacts both implicit and explicit memory, or only one or the other.

Because prior research does suggest that implicit memory is not as affected by age as explicit memory, the researchers predict that stereotype threat will impact explicit memory function more than implicit function. Moreover, the researchers want to discover whether there are differences between younger vs. older seniors because memory functions have been shown change with age. Methods The researchers randomly mailed invitations to participate in the study.

Mailings were sent to members of senior centers in Los Angeles and New York, and 71 people between the ages of 53 and 98 were selected and randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups: the stereotype threat condition and the control group. Both groups performed the same set of memory-related tests, but the stereotype threat group received a suggestion prior to commencing the memory tests. The suggestion was that age adversely impacts memory.

The tests were administered at the local senior centers, and included mainly word stem exercises designed to measure explicit and implicit memory. Results/Discussion Eich et al. (2014) found that stereotype threat adversely affects explicit memory in the Early Aging group (with the mean age of 67.83), but not in the Later Aging group (with the mean age of 84.59). This shows that the effect of aging is more important than the effect of the stereotype threat. Furthermore, the researchers found that stereotype threat does not affect implicit memory, but only explicit memory.

Thus, whatever cognitive functions are impaired by stereotype threat do not have a bearing on the deep, subconscious level recall of processes. The researchers therefore noted that stereotype threat specifically affects memory related to controlled retrieval, but not item encoding. Summary/Conclusion Memory is a complex cognitive function. It is important to understand how the different types of memory work, which will help researchers better understand how age impacts these differential memory processes and functions.

This research is significant because it bolstered a body of research in the area of geriatric psychology. Moreover, this research is important because it highlights the effects of suggestibility and stereotype threat specifically on the two different types of memory. The research also highlights the differences between different types of memory activities like free recall, recognition, and false memory suggestibility. The Eich et al. (2014) research could be improved by adding different types of memory-related activities.

The word stem activities are limited in scope, and do not necessarily reflect the real life gamut of memory-related activities that seniors will encounter. These research limitations are common, as most memory-related research has been conducted in stilted settings such as these because it is difficult to design studies that can control for the nuances of memory recall and implicit memory activity in real-life or naturalistic settings.

Other weaknesses in this research include the inability to control for variables such as stress or emotions that are distinct from those related to stereotype threat. The research could.