The Applied Implications of Age-Based Stereotype Threat for Older Adults

Abstract

Stereotype threat occurs when people feel concerned about the possibility of confirming, or being negatively judged by, a negative stereotype. This review highlights the applied implications of this phenomenon for older adults In clinical settings, older adults often feel that their physicians have negative expectations about their abilities because of their age. These feelings of age-based stereotype threat can increase older adults' subjective cognitive complaints and impair their performance on mental status examinations. Other research has shown that stereotype threat also adversely affects older adults' physical performance, motor learning, and driving performance. In workplace settings, older adults who experience stereotype threat also report lower job satisfaction, poorer work-related mental health, and greater intentions to resign or retire. Overall, this review provides evidence that the situational phenomenon of stereotype threat can affect older adults' performance in a variety of applied settings, and this can contribute to age differences in performance.

Keywords: cognitive testing; driving; employment; mental status examination; older adults; stereotype threat.