Biomedical subjects

Thomas M Hess

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas M Hess.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Age-related variation in the influences of aging stereotypes on memory in adulthood.

Adults 24-86 years of age read positive or negative information about aging and memory prior to a memory test. The impact of this information on recall performance varied with age. Performance in the youngest and oldest participants was minimally affected by stereotype activation. Adults in their 60s exhibited weak effects consistent with the operation of stereotype threat, whereas middle-age adults exhibited a contrast effect in memory performance, suggestive of stereotype lift. Beliefs about aging and memory were also affected by stereotypic information, and older adults' changed beliefs were more important in predicting performance than was exposure to stereotype-based information alone.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Memory and aging in context.

Much research has indicated that aging is accompanied by decrements in memory performance across a wide variety of tasks and situations. A dominant perspective is that these age differences reflect normative changes in the integrity and efficiency of the information-processing system. Contextual perspectives of development, however, argue for consideration of a broader constellation of factors as determinants of both intraindividual change and interindividual variation in memory functioning. The validity of the contextual perspective in characterizing the relationship between aging and memory is examined through a review of studies exploring a variety of alternative mechanisms associated with age differences in performance. It is concluded that a more multidimensional approach to the study of aging and memory is warranted.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2005

Age and experience influences on the complexity of social inferences.

Age differences in social-cognitive functioning were assessed by examining sensitivity to the trait implications of behavioral cues when making social inferences. Adults (age range = 23-86 years) read target descriptions containing positive and negative behaviors relating to either morality or competence. Consistent with past research, middle-aged and older adults were more likely than younger adults to make inferences consistent with the trait-diagnostic implications of the behaviors. Age was also associated with increased sensitivity to additional cues that moderated the diagnostic value of behaviors based on simple descriptive content. The authors argue that these age differences reflect a type of expertise based in accumulated social experience, a conclusion bolstered by an additional finding that social activity moderated age differences in social judgments.

Achievement↗

PubMed2005

Effect of health-related stereotypes on physiological responses of hypertensive middle-aged and older men.

This study examined the influence of health stereotypes on stress response among middle-aged and older men. It was hypothesized that anxiety and cardiovascular reactivity would increase when health stereotypes were activated among veterans seeking care in an outpatient setting. Among a sample of 122 veteran patients with hypertension, the level of stereotype activation varied by means of reference to either their health status (health stereotypes) or, conversely, some personally valued leisure activities (no stereotype activation). Predicted stereotype-related increases in anxiety, galvanized skin conductance, and blood pressure were evident. Potential explanations for these results are explored, including those relating to the negative health stereotypes associated with being a patient.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Explicit and implicit stereotype activation effects on memory: do age and awareness moderate the impact of priming?

Two studies examined the effects of implicit and explicit priming of aging stereotypes. Implicit primes had a significant effect on older adults' memory, with positive primes associated with greater recall than negative primes. With explicit primes, older adults were able to counteract the impact of negative stereotypes when the cues were relatively subtle, but blatant stereotype primes suppressed performance regardless of prime type. No priming effects under either presentation condition were obtained for younger adults, indicating that the observed implicit effects are specific to those for whom the stereotype is self-relevant. Findings emphasize the importance of social-situational factors in determining older adults' memory performance and contribute to the delineation of situations under which stereotypes are most influential.

Achievement↗

PubMed2003

The impact of stereotype threat on age differences in memory performance.

This study investigated the hypothesis that age differences in memory performance may be influenced by stereotype threat associated with negative cultural beliefs about the impact of aging on memory. Recall was examined in 48 young and 48 older adults under conditions varying in the degree of induced threat. Conditions that maximize threat resulted in lower performance in older adults relative to both younger adults and to older adults who did not experience threat. The degree to which threat affected older adults' performance increased along with the value that these individuals placed on their memory ability. Older adults' memory performance across experimental conditions was observed to covary with degree of activation of the negative aging stereotype, providing support for the hypothesized relationship between stereotype activation and performance. Finally, stereotype threat also influenced mnemonic strategy use, which in turn partially mediated the impact of threat on recall. These results emphasize the important role played by contextual factors in determining age differences in memory performance.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2002

Aging, cognitive complexity, and the fundamental attribution error.

Age differences in the prevalence and underpinnings of the fundamental attribution error were examined. Young, middle-aged, and older adults observed an actor providing responses to questions about political issues. In the no-choice condition, the actor was instructed how to respond, whereas in the choice condition, he was allowed to select his response. Consistent with previous research, middle-aged adults were less prone to the fundamental attribution error than were young and older adults. This was evidenced by their reduced tendency to make attitude attributions in the no-choice condition relative to the choice condition. Although high levels of both cognitive and attributional complexity were associated with reductions in attributional bias, complexity did not systematically account for the between-age-group differences in performance. It is suggested that the observed pattern of age effects is related to variations in both cognitive complexity and cognitive resources.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Age differences in the bases for social judgments: tests of a social expertise perspective.

Research indicates that increasing age is associated with greater use of trait-diagnostic behavioral information in making social judgments. These effects may reflect an aging-related increase in social expertise, indicative of more powerful and accessible knowledge structures. The current work is an attempt to provide further evidence in support of the social expertise view and a test of an alternative hypothesis. Results of this work indicate that age differences in the use of trait-diagnostic information were moderated by factors thought to affect the accessibility of relevant knowledge structures.

Adult↗