Experimental Aging Research, 41: 410–425, 2015

Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 0361-073X print/1096-4657 online
DOI: 10.1080/0361073X.2015.1053757

POSITIVE PERCEPTION OF AGING AND PERFORMANCE

IN A MEMORY TASK: COMPENSATING FOR
STEREOTYPE THREAT?

Rocío Fernández-Ballesteros

Department of Psychobiology and Health, Autonoma University of Madrid,

Madrid, Spain

Antonio Bustillos and Carmen Huici

Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Department of Social

Psychology, Madrid, Spain

Background/Study Context: The aim of this research is to explore whether

segments of seniors might be immune to aging stereotypes of the older
adult group. Stereotype threat research indicates that older adults show
low memory recall under conditions of stereotype threat. Stereotype inter-
nalization theory (Levy, 2009) predicts that a positive perception of aging
has favorable effects on the behavior and health of older people.
Methods: A total of 112 older adult participants (62% women, aged
55 to 78) attending the University Programme for Older Adults were
assigned to one of two conditions: stereotype threat condition and positive
information condition. A control group was included from participants in
the same program (n = 34; 61% women, aged 55 to 78). Individual differ-
ences in self-perception of aging were considered as continuous variable.
Results: Participants with better self-perception of aging showed better
memory performance than those with poorer self-perception of aging in the
stereotype threat condition and control condition. However, no differences
were found in the positive information condition between participants
with high and low self-perception of aging. These results indicate that
positive self-perception of aging moderates the effects of stereotype threat,
and that positive information promotes better memory performance for
those older adults with a poorer self-perception of aging.

Received 20 January 2013; accepted 17 June 2014.

Address correspondence to Rocío Fernández-Ballesteros, Autonoma University of Madrid,
Iván Pavlov, 6, Madrid 28049, Spain. E-mail: r.fballesteros@uam.es
Compensating for Stereotype Threat? 411

Conclusion: As expected, individuals with a positive perception of their

own aging were less vulnerable to the activation of a negative older adult
stereotype in the stereotype threat condition.

“As they say, when the age is in, the wit is out.”
Much Ado About Nothing III, 5
William Shakespeare

“It should be noted that one writes not with grey hairs but with the
understanding that generally improves with the years.”
Prologue, Don Quixote, Part II
Miguel de Cervantes

The above opposing descriptions of processes that apparently take place

when “age gets in” or hair becomes gray—from Shakespeare and
Cervantes—do not represent different views of aging in the two differ-
ent sociohistorical contexts; rather, they correspond to views of the elderly
that have coexisted throughout many eras and across many societies about
the effects of age on our cognitive capacities—whether it improves them,
or whether it brings about their decline. Although science has provided
objective evidence on this matter, there is still a need to learn about how
widespread views, especially the dominant one about decline, might influ-
ence the behavior of individuals going through the aging process, who are
likely to compare themselves with their own former selves or with other
people of their age. Answers to such questions can be provided by the type
of psychosocial research on stereotype threat that forms the theoretical
framework of the present study.
There is strong empirical evidence documenting decline in certain
memory functions associated with aging (for a review, see Buckner,
2004; Salthouse, 2001), as well as a wide cross-cultural consensus as
regards perceptions of such a decline (Löckenhoff et al., 2009). However,
researchers within the area of social cognition have identified some fac-
tors that may exacerbate this naturally occurring decline. Among such
factors, widespread ageist attitudes and stereotypes (Cuddy & Fiske, 2002;
Cuddy, Norton, & Fiske, 2005; Kite, Stockdale, Whitley, & Johnson, 2005;
Nelson, 2005; Pinquart, 2002) may play an important role. In recent years,
the study of how these stereotypes negatively influence cognitive perfor-
mance and other aspects of older adults’ behavior and well-being have
become a focus of attention (cf. Blanchard-Fields & Horhota, 2006).
A sizeable portion of research on the effects of negative stereotypes
of aging has been conducted within the framework of stereotype threat,
which refers to the fear that arises in situations in which a member of a
412 R. Fernández-Ballesteros et al.

group risks confirming a negative stereotype of that group associated with

poor performance in a given domain (Steele & Aronson, 1995).

Stereotype Threat and Reduced Performance of Older People in

Cognitive Tasks

The stereotype threat perspective (Steele, 1997; Steele & Aronson, 1995;
see Steele, Spencer, & Aronson, 2002, for a review) explains underperfor-
mance in members of minority groups (in domains relevant for the group
stereotype) as being due in part to the influence of negative stereotypes.
When such negative stereotypes exist, and the member of the group has
to perform a task in the specific domain negatively associated with the
group stereotype, he or she worries about confirming the stereotype. This
self-evaluative threat will hinder performance.
A number of studies have focused on the effects of stereotype threat in
older people, finding reductions in different aspects of their cognitive func-
tioning, such as memory performance (Chasteen, Bhattacharyya, Horhota,
Tam, & Hasher, 2005; Hess, Auman, Colcombe, & Rahhal, 2003; Hess,
Hinson, & Hodges, 2009; Rahal, Hasher, & Colcombe, 2001), general
cognitive performance, including different intellectual abilities (Abrams,
Eller, & Bryant, 2006), and mathematics test performance (Abrams et al.,
2008).
In the case of memory, Rahal et al. (2001) compared performance in
a memory task by younger and older participants by varying the task
instructions: in one condition the task was presented as a test of mem-
ory, whereas in the other the memory component was de-emphasized,
by presenting the task as a test of the ability to learn facts (neutral
condition). These researchers found that although older participants’ per-
formance was poorer than that of the younger ones in the memory task,
there was no difference in performance between them in the neutral con-
dition. Further support for the stereotype threat effect was obtained by
Hess and colleagues (2003), who used a stronger manipulation that con-
sisted in presenting information, allegedly from research reports about
aging and memory, to older and younger adults and comparing their per-
formance. Depending on the condition, the information either backed up
(negative condition) or contradicted (positive condition) negative views on
the effects of aging on mental abilities. A third, neutral control condition,
with no prior information, was also included. Older participants showed
lower recall in the negative condition compared with either the positive
or the neutral condition. In another study, Chasteen et al. (2005) studied
the effects of memory and impression formation instructions in a memory
Compensating for Stereotype Threat? 413

task with older and younger participants and expected a smaller differ-
ence between them in the nonthreatening impression formation task. They
found poorer performance of the older group in both conditions—that is, a
main effect of age and no interaction with task instructions. However, they
found that feelings of stereotype threat mediated the relation between age
and performance, indicating that age increased the feelings of threat and
these were negatively related to performance. In general, studies in this
area of cognitive performance in older people have shown that minimizing
the diagnosticity of the task appears to counteract stereotype threat effects
on performance.

Moderators of Stereotype Threat Effects on Older People’s

Performance in Cognitive Tasks

In line with works in the more general area of stereotype threat (Maass &
Cadinu, 2003), attention has been focused on individual difference vari-
ables that may moderate the effects of stereotype threat on cognitive task
performance by older adults. Hess and coworkers (2003) found that the
value participants placed on their memory ability increased the effects of
stereotype threat on performance. This result is in line with the view that
people who value a given domain are more vulnerable to stereotype threat
(Steele & Aronson, 1995). Desrichard and Köpetz (2005) showed the mod-
erator role of memory self-efficacy on stereotype threat effects in older
adults when they performed a memory task and the memory component
was emphasized. Lower memory self-efficacy correlated with lower lev-
els of performance in that condition, but not in the condition where the
memory component was not highlighted.
Hess et al. (2009) considered the moderating role of age, education,
and concern about being stigmatized in the effects of stereotype threat on
memory performance. They were able to show that this threat had greater
effects in the young seniors group (60–70) than in the older group (71–80),
whereas stigma consciousness affected performance more in the older
group. Moreover, these effects were stronger in the more educated partic-
ipants. Kang and Chasteen (2009) examined stereotype threat effects in a
sample of older women (62–85). These authors included not only memory
performance but also positive and negative emotions experienced by par-
ticipants. Identification with the age group and perceived stereotype threat
were considered as potential moderators. They used a stereotype threat
manipulation that approaches what older people may encounter in their
daily lives: a memory task (memory for a prose passage) in the presence
of younger adults. Different recall (free and cued recall) and recognition
414 R. Fernández-Ballesteros et al.

measures were employed. The main results of this study show the effect of
stereotype threat on decrements in free recall. Also, recall performance fell
as age group identification increased. Perceived stereotype threat moder-
ated the effects of threat so that those in the threat condition who perceived
greater threat showed greater memory decrements and a reduction of pos-
itive emotions. No moderation effects of age group identification were
found.
In other domains of cognitive performance by older people, prior posi-
tive intergenerational contact moderated the impact of stereotype threat,
thus appearing to reduce their vulnerability to it (Abrams et al., 2006,
2008).

Age Stereotypes and Self-perception of Aging

The extensive program of research by Levy and coworkers focuses on the

long-term effects of negative stereotypes of older people that are prevalent
in a society and that contribute to a self-image of aging when one becomes
old (Levy, 2009). Thus, when these negative stereotypes are internalized in
the course of life, they become self-stereotypes and affect the perception of
one’s own aging, which, in turn, has both cognitive and physical effects.
These authors have shown the influence of a positive self-perception of
aging on longevity and health (Levy, Slade, & Kasl, 2002a; Levy, Slade,
Kunkel, & Kasl, 2002b; Levy, 2003). Recent research within this frame-
work has documented how negative older adult stereotypes held earlier
in life have effects later in life and, more specifically, are related to the
probability of suffering cardiovascular events (Levy, Zonderman, Slade, &
Ferrucci, 2009).
Central to this perspective is the role played by self-perception of aging
(i.e., how the individual evaluates the changes experienced with age),
which derives from the internalization of aging stereotypes. Levy (2003)
has emphasized the difference between this process of internalization and
the effects of stereotype threat, which are produced in specific situations
when the individual risks confirming the negative beliefs socially held
about his or her group. On the other hand, stereotype threat involves
awareness of the stereotype and how it is relevant for the situation,
although Levy (1996) contends that once the aging stereotype has become
a self-stereotype, its activation will produce an assimilation effect without
the need for awareness by the individual. She was able to show that older
individuals exposed to subliminal activation of a negative age stereotype
performed more poorly in memory tasks than individuals exposed to pos-
itive age stereotypes. That is, activation of negative stereotypes can have
Compensating for Stereotype Threat? 415

effects without awareness. According to Levy, this entails the disadvantage

for the elderly of attributing the decline in certain cognitive tasks to aging,
rather than to the environment, so that the negative stereotype is
reinforced.

Overview of the Research

The aim of this research is to study the effects of stereotype threat and
an intervention strategy that includes counterstereotypical information for
preventing the effects of stereotype threat on performance in older par-
ticipants. These effects are expected to be moderated by the participant’s
self-perception of aging. As pointed out earlier, according to Levy and
coworkers’ view of self-stereotyping (Levy et al., 2002a,b; Levy, 2003,
2009), positive self-perception of aging is related to the internalization
of positive stereotypes of older adults. That is, the better one’s self-
perception of aging, the more positive one’s personal beliefs about the
aged. It has also been shown from the same perspective that positive
self-perception of aging is associated with longevity and other positive
health outcomes in older adult people (Levy et al., 2002a,b). It could be
hypothesized that older people who internalize positive age stereotypes
and reject negative ones will be less vulnerable to the activation of a neg-
ative older adult stereotype in stereotype threat situations. The relation
between positive views about the elderly and healthy and successful aging
has also been clearly pointed out and tested through a quasi-experimental
design by Fernández-Ballesteros and her group (Fernández-Ballesteros,
Caprara, Iñíguez, & García, 2005). These authors showed that a pro-
gram for active aging (training healthy and active lifestyles) significantly
improved self-perception of aging, as well as certain positive behaviors
regarding aging (for a review, see Caprara et al., 2013). Also, and again
using a quasi-experimental design, they reported that 1-year university
courses for older adults (in both humanities and sciences) taught at five
universities in four countries (Cuba, Chile, Mexico, and Spain) produced
an improvement in self-perception of aging in older participants, and also
better group stereotypes, whereas controls did not change from baseline
(Fernández-Ballesteros et al., 2012).
Our study explores the role of self-perception of aging in moderating
the effects on memory performance, under conditions of stereotype threat.
In order to test whether or not we obtain effects consistent with aging
stereotypes, two types of information were employed in two different con-
ditions: the first type referred to the fact that older adults could maintain
good memory skills, whereas the second type referred to underperfor-
mance of the older adults in memory tasks as compared with younger
416 R. Fernández-Ballesteros et al.

people. This strong manipulation is similar to that employed by Hess et al.

(2003), which yielded stereotype threat effects. Self-perception of aging
in late-middle-aged and older participants was taken into account. If a
moderation effect of self-perception is observed, it could be taken as evi-
dence of the sustained use of positive aging self-views that function as
a defense against situational stereotype threat. This defense function has
been extensively shown in the research by Levy and coworkers described
above. To our knowledge, there has been no work carried out to date study-
ing the moderation effects of self-perception of aging within the stereotype
threat context. Thus, in contrast to research that has compared the self-
stereotyping and stereotype threat accounts of age stereotype effects (Levy,
2003; O’Brien & Hummert, 2006), we take a complementary approach to
these two factors by looking at the moderating effects of self-perception of
aging on the consequences of stereotype threat.
To summarize the objectives of this study: first, we set out to see
whether there are differences in the memory performance of older adults
when stereotype threat is activated, then compare this condition with a
condition in which positive information about older adults’ good levels
of competence in the same memory task is activated. We predicted that
performance on a memory task would be higher in the latter condition
compared with the former. And second, we aimed to explore the mod-
erator role of self-perception of aging when older people are faced with
stereotype threat. We expected that positive self-perception would reduce
the effects of stereotype threat.

METHODS

Participants and Procedure

The sample was composed of 112 participants (61% women) taking part
in the first year of the University Programme for Older Adults (PUMA),
with an age range of 55 to 78 years (M = 61.72, SD = 5.26). PUMAs are
3-year courses on humanities, social and natural sciences. Admission is by
means of a standard examination, and educational level, reported health,
and cognitive abilities are higher in these students than in people from the
same-age Spanish population.
Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental conditions, at
the beginning of a course on the psychology of the life span. Experimental
conditions involved positive information about the memory performance
of older adults or negative information about their memory performance
(the positive information and negative information conditions, respec-
tively). A control group (n = 34; 61% women, ages from 55 to 78,
Compensating for Stereotype Threat? 417

M = 61.47, SD = 5.23) was added for comparison purposes, its partici-

pants being recruited an academic year later from the same course.
In all groups, the task was introduced as participation in a research
project on memory as one of the multiple activities of the course. Prior to
being given the memory task instructions, participants in the negative infor-
mation condition read a statement informing them about alleged poorer
in-group performance on this kind of task: “Recent research on memory
has indicated that older adults obtain poorer results in a memory task by
comparison with young people.” In the positive information condition, on
the other hand, participants read: “Recent research on memory has indi-
cated that when older adults are accustomed to doing cognitive tasks and
show high motivation, they often obtain good results in tasks of verbal
memory.” The control group received only the memory task, without any
other information.
Participants also filled out the five items of the self-perception of aging
questionnaire developed by Levy (Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale
Scale [PGCMS]; Lawton, 1975). Order of appearance of the measures was
counterbalanced, and no order effect was found.

Measures

Memory Task
The first trial of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test developed by
Fernández-Ballesteros, Zamarrón, and Tárraga (2005) was administered.
Participants were instructed as follows: You are going to read a list of
15 words. When you have finished you must write down as many words as
you can remember from the list on the second page. It does not matter in
which order your write the words. Your task is to remember as many words
as you can, after reading it just once. Please, read the word list just once,
and on the second page, write as many words as you can. Do not go back
to the first page.

Self-perceptions of Aging
Following Levy et al. (2002a,b), five items from the PGCMS (Lawton,
1975) were administered: Things keep getting worse as I get older; I have
as much pep as I did last year; As you get older, you are less useful; I am as
happy now as I was when I was younger; and As I get older, things are (bet-
ter than, worse than, or the same as) I thought they would be. Following
the procedure proposed by Levy et al. (p. 263), negative responses to the
first four items were coded as 0, whereas positive answers were coded as 1.
Responses to the fifth item were changed to a dichotomous format com-
bining the responses the same as and better than as 1 and worse than as 0.
418 R. Fernández-Ballesteros et al.

Participants received a total score ranging from 0 to 5, with a higher score

indicating a more positive self-perception of aging. This scale yielded an
internal consistency index of Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (KR20) = .78.

Hypothesis

In a first step, and following the findings from the stereotype threat lit-
erature (see Steele & Aronson, 1995), poorer memory performance is
expected in the stereotype threat, negative information condition, as com-
pared with the positive information condition and the control condition
(H1). Additionally, an interaction effect of self-perception of aging on
the memory performance task is expected. Participants with better self-
perception of aging will be less influenced by the negative information,
whereas participants with lower scores in self-perception of aging will
display the poorest free recall in the negative feedback condition (H2).

RESULTS

A preliminary analysis of the self-perception of aging scores by experi-

mental condition confirmed that the random allocation to condition had
been successful, with no differences between conditions found, F(2,
136) = .14, nonsignificant (ns). Participants in the positive condition
(M = 3.82, SD = 1.42) indicate the same level of self-perception of aging
as those in the negative condition (M = 3.78, SD = 1.31) and the control
condition (M = 3.92, SD = 1.14). The Levene test also indicates the vari-
ance was homogeneous among experimental conditions in self-perception
of aging F(2, 136) = 1.07, ns.
To test our hypothesis we used a hierarchical regression analysis to
examine the effects of the experimental conditions with self-perception
treated as a continuous variable. For this purpose, we created two dummy
variables following the dummy code scheme proposed by Cohen, Cohen,
West, and Aiken (2003, pp 336, see also; Hayes & Preacher, 2014), for
contrast coding with experimental treatment groups. The primary purpose
was to see whether self-perception of aging has an equivalent influence
on word recall, despite different information about memory performance
(experimental treatments). Dummy 1 compares the effect of the negative
condition (coded 1) against the positive and control conditions (coded 0),
whereas Dummy 2 compares the positive information condition (coded
1) against the negative condition and control condition (coded 0). The
interaction terms will be products of these two terms and self-perception
of aging centered.
Compensating for Stereotype Threat? 419

Table 1. Dummy variable and self-perception of aging interactions for word

recall
Interaction B SE t Significance

Main effects
β0 8.58 .39 21.79 .00
βself-perception 1.58 .82 1.91 .06
βDummy1 −.67 .54 1.23 .22
βDummy2 .25 .53 .47 .64
Interaction effects
βDummy1 × Self-perception −2.27 2.18 1.04 .30
βDummy2 × Self-perception −5.77 2.20 2.73 .01

Hierarchical regression analysis indicates no main effects for either

Dummy 1 or Dummy 2, and a marginal effect of self-perception of aging
(see Table 1 and Figure 1). In the second step, one interaction effect
emerged. The interaction effect of Dummy 2 and self-perception of aging
indicates that the slope of word recall in the positive condition is differ-
ent from that of the control and negative information conditions taken
together. In other words, the significant differences occurred when com-
paring the positive condition with the other two conditions. This effect
is due to the fact that in the positive information condition, those who
have a poorer self-perception of aging improve their recall. The difference
between mean word recall in the negative condition and the mean in the
positive and control conditions is not significant.
To further decompose the interaction, regression analysis were per-
formed for each condition separately. This analysis indicates a significant
effect of self-perception of aging in the negative condition (β = .69,
t = 2.77, p < .01), a marginally effect in the control condition (β = .31,
t = 1.91, p = .06), and finally in the positive information condition, self-
perception of aging did not significantly effect memory recall (β = −.08,
t = .33, ns). A simple slope test indicated that the positive condition dif-
fered significantly from the negative condition (t = 2.01, p < .05), but not
from the control condition (t = 1.18, ns), whereas negative and control
conditions did not show significant slope differences (t = 1.09, ns).

DISCUSSION

The results of this research support the age stereotype internalization

hypothesis. Our study shows how stereotype threat and self-stereotypes
420 R. Fernández-Ballesteros et al.

Figure 1. Interaction effect of self-perception of aging on memory recall.

might complement each other in explanations of older people’s perfor-

mance on memory tasks. Thus, it indicates how a more stable factor, such
as positive self-perception of aging, may contribute to reducing situational
effects, such as those posed by stereotype threat (short-term stereotype
activation effect). The research of Levy and coworkers has shown the
favorable effects of a positive perception of aging on the behavior and
health of older people. In the current study, the induced positive stereotype
also induced better memory performance in individuals who expressed
poorer self-perception on the self-perceptions of aging scale (Levy et al.,
2002a,b).
The study also extends the research on moderators of stereotype threat
effects, and in particular recent work aimed at showing the role of moder-
ators that appear as specific for older people in situations of threat, such
as the value placed on memory ability (Hess et al., 2003), self-efficacy
in memory tasks (Desrichard & Köpetz, 2005), and age, by itself or in
combination with concern about being stigmatized (Hess et al., 2009).
The results obtained in the control group are in line with those of other
studies using a less strong manipulation of no-threat than the one used in
the present study, e.g., instructions of impression formation versus memo-
rization showed no effects of instructions on the memory performance of
older adults (Chasteen et al., 2005). Chasteen et al. suggest that the impres-
sion formation instructions, or the broader experimental context, may also
induce stereotype threat and activate negative aging stereotypes in older
participants. In the same vein, Geraci and Miller (2013) point out that it
Compensating for Stereotype Threat? 421

may not be necessary to induce stereotype threat experimentally, and that

under standard testing conditions older adults may perform poorly because
they are aware that their memory is being tested. These authors were also
able to show the mediating role of stereotype threat perceptions in the
effect of age on participants’ performance: the more they perceived the
threat, the more recall or recognition tasks were impaired. In the present
case, the overall performance of the control group was more similar to the
stereotype threat group than to the positive information group. In our study,
the moderating role of self-perception of aging might result in people
with positive self-perception having reduced or no activation of feelings
of stereotype threat in a test situation.
Another important moderator of stereotype threat could be identi-
fication with the older adult group. There are different views on the
effects of this identification with low-status or stigmatized groups in
general. Branscombe, Schmitt, and Harvey (1999) proposed a rejection-
identification model based on social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner,
1986) to describe effects of perceived discrimination on members of these
groups. The effects consisted of negative consequences for psychologi-
cal well-being, but also an increase in identification with the low-status
group, which, in turn, may alleviate the negative impact on well-being.
Garska and coworkers (Garska, Schmitt, Branscombe, & Hummert, 2004)
applied the rejection-identification model to older adults and found support
for their prediction that perceived age discrimination had negative effects
on well-being, but also increased identification with the age group, which
is related to better psychological well-being. These authors suggest that
identification with the age group may contribute to a positive social iden-
tity, protecting the individual member from the stigma associated with the
group. On the other hand, Weiss and Lang (2012) have pointed to the com-
plexities of in-group identification for older adults by showing the different
effects of identification with their age group, associated with decline, as
compared with identification with their generation, related to positive char-
acteristics, including agency. As for the role of the identification of older
people in situations of stereotype threat, Steele, Spencer, and Aronson’s
(2002) general prediction is that those more identified with a group associ-
ated with a negative stereotype in a given domain would feel more threat in
situations in which the stereotype applies. In a study conducted by O’Brien
and Hummert (2006) with late-middle-aged adults, it was shown that, even
in less threatening conditions, those who identified implicitly with older
adults performed more poorly in memory tasks. As mentioned earlier, a
1 Liang and Bollen (1985) found that the five self-perception of aging items loaded high on a single

factor in a different data set. Levy et al. (2002a, p. 412) also noted that these five items load high on a
single factor (above .80), using an Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement sample (OLSAR;
Levy et al., 2002a).
422 R. Fernández-Ballesteros et al.

similar result was obtained by Kang and Chasteen (2009), who found that,
regardless of the stereotype threat condition, a decrease in free recall as
a function of age-group identification occurred. Abrams et al. (2006) did
not find that high identifiers among the older adults were more affected by
stereotype threat than low identifiers in cognitive task performance.
The major limitation of the present work is that our design is not
a true experiment with random assignment to experimental and control
conditions, and this shortcoming will be addressed in future studies that
would allow us to see whether we replicate the present findings of the
intermediate effects of the allegedly neutral condition.
We should also broaden the scope of the research by looking at per-
formance in types of cognitive task other than memory tasks, in line with
recent work in this area focusing on mathematics performance (Abrams
et al., 2008) or general cognitive tasks such as those used in aptitude tests
(Abrams et al., 2006).
In accordance with the present emphasis in stereotype threat research
on the processes involved in it (Schmader, Johns, & Forbes, 2008), we
should consider what kind of processes might be activated when cogni-
tive tasks are presented to older people who differ in their self-perception
of aging. It may be that different regulatory focus is involved (promotion
or prevention), the former in the case of positive self-perception of aging
and the latter in the case of negative self-perception. Furthermore, stereo-
type threat situations might involve an alternative perception—challenge
versus threat—for older people who differ in their views about their own
aging.

FUNDING

This project was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Older
Adults and Social Services (IMSERSO-I+D+i-34-2006) and by PSI2010-
17700

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