Faltering Memory May be Your Fault

North Carolina State University scientists have examined the effects of negative thoughts about memory and aging in older persons. They’ve published their results in Experimental Aging Research.

The memory performance of people aged 60 - 70 and 71 - 82 was tested after they were told that older folk did poorly on that particular type of memory test, and compared with another group who were not negatively influenced in this way. The 60 - 70 year-old group did least well on the test after the negative stereotyping, but the 71 – 82 year-old seniors also performed less well after hearing the stereotyping.

In another test, memory suffered if the subjects believed they were being stigmatized, i.e. others were looking down on them because of their age. In this scenario, the71 - 82 year-old group did worse than the younger group.

In both groups, with both tests, the effects were strongest for those with higher levels of education. This was interpreted as being a greater sensitivity to negative implications in those who value their ability to remember things.

It really looks as if thinking your memory will get worse as you age may be a self-fulfilling prophesy. You have been warned, so get positive!