The Role of Aging Education on the Beliefs Held About Aging : A Pilot Study

Abstract

Western stereotypes regarding aging are both pervasive and, generally, negative. Personal endorsement of these stereotypes can be reflected in expectations regarding the aging process. For example, Lineweaver et al. (2009) found that expectations related to memory aging were influenced by descriptors of the target being evaluated as conforming to positive or negative health stereotypes (e.g., being mentally and / or physically active versus being sedentary). Even brief educational interventions can result in more positive perceptions of aging. In this study, formal education was assessed as a history of human development coursework that included information related to aging. Informal education was assessed in two ways. We examined employment histories (i.e., whether participants had experience with older adults in their workplace) as well as whether they had lived with an older person (e.g., a grandparent) at some point in their lives. We used an updated version of Palmore’s (1981) Facts on Aging Quiz (Breytspraak, 2015) to assess participants’ general knowledge about aging. Variations of the General Beliefs about Memory and Personal Beliefs about Memory questionnaires were used to assess explicit beliefs regarding age-related changes in memory function for an average, healthy person (GBMI) and for participants themselves (PBMI). We expected to find that increased formal education relates to more accurate knowledge about aging and less age-related bias. We also expected that participants with a history of formal education would be less likely to apply negative aging stereotypes about memory to their future selves than those without such education.