Today, at the first International Conference on Social Identity and Health, researchers from the University of Exeter (UK) presented a study showing that the way older adults think about their age can ward off (or invite) cognitive cobwebs.
Several dozen research participants between 60 and 70 years old were put in one of two groups -- the "older" group was primed to think of themselves as older by being told that the study enrolled people aged 40 to 70, while the "younger" group was told that the participants ranged in age from 60 to 90. Then, subjects read one of two articles, either one focusing on aging and memory loss or one on aging and general cognitive ability. Finally, everybody took a series of standard clinical tests, including one used to screen for dementia. The scores of 70 percent of the "older" subjects who read that aging was associated with general cognitive decline indicated likely dementia, compared to an average of just 14 percent in the other groups.
Several dozen research participants between 60 and 70 years old were put in one of two groups -- the "older" group was primed to think of themselves as older by being told that the study enrolled people aged 40 to 70, while the "younger" group was told that the participants ranged in age from 60 to 90. Then, subjects read one of two articles, either one focusing on aging and memory loss or one on aging and general cognitive ability. Finally, everybody took a series of standard clinical tests, including one used to screen for dementia. The scores of 70 percent of the "older" subjects who read that aging was associated with general cognitive decline indicated likely dementia, compared to an average of just 14 percent in the other groups.
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