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A Review and Meta-Analysis of Age-Based Stereotype Threat: Negative Stereotypes, Not Facts, Do the Damage.

Lamont, Ruth A., Swift, Hannah J., Abrams, Dominic (2015) A Review and Meta-Analysis of Age-Based Stereotype Threat: Negative Stereotypes, Not Facts, Do the Damage. Psychology and Aging, . pp. 1-14. ISSN 0882-7974. (doi:10.1037/a0038586) (KAR id:46931)

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Abstract

Stereotype threat effects arise when an individual feels at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about their group and consequently underperforms on stereotype relevant tasks (Steele, 2010). Among older people, underperformance across cognitive and physical tasks is hypothesized to result from age-based stereotype threat (ABST) because of negative age-stereotypes regarding older adults’ competence. The present review and meta-analyses examine 22 published and 10 unpublished articles, including 82 effect sizes (N = 3882) investigating ABST on older people’s (Mage = 69.5) performance. The analysis revealed a significant small-to-medium effect of ABST (d = .28) and important moderators of the effect size. Specifically, older adults are more vulnerable to ABST when (a) stereotype-based rather than fact-based manipulations are used (d = .52); (b) when performance is tested using cognitive measures (d = .36); and (c) occurs reliably when the dependent variable is measured proximally to the manipulation. The review raises important theoretical and methodological issues, and areas for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1037/a0038586
Subjects: H Social Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: R.A. Lamont
Date Deposited: 29 Jan 2015 10:47 UTC
Last Modified: 08 Dec 2022 21:21 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/46931 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Lamont, Ruth A..

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Swift, Hannah J..

Creator's ORCID:
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Abrams, Dominic.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2113-4572
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