Stressed older woman (© fizkes - stock.adobe.com)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Do you believe that getting older inevitably means becoming more forgetful? That mental decline is just part of aging? New research suggests that these expectations about aging might actually influence how sharp you feel mentally as you grow older.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University and several other institutions have discovered that older adults who maintain more positive expectations about aging tend to report better cognitive function and fewer concerns about cognitive decline. In other words, your beliefs about getting older might be creating a self-fulfilling prophecy when it comes to your mental acuity.
The study, published in the journal Aging & Mental Health, examined 581 adults aged 65-90 years old, with an average age of 71. The research team, led by Dr. Nikki L. Hill, investigated how participants’ expectations about aging related to their self-perceived cognitive abilities and any noticed decline in their thinking skills.
Think of it like this: If you believe that significant memory loss is inevitable with age, you might be more likely to interpret normal moments of forgetfulness (like misplacing your keys) as signs of serious decline. Conversely, if you maintain more positive expectations about aging, you might view such occasional lapses as normal experiences that happen to people of all ages.
The study looked at three different types of aging expectations: those related to physical health (like expecting to become less active), mental health (such as expecting to feel more anxious or depressed), and cognitive function (like expecting to become more forgetful). Researchers then compared these expectations to how participants rated their current thinking abilities and whether they felt their cognitive function had declined over the past decade.
Interestingly, all three types of aging expectations showed similar relationships with cognitive self-perception. Those who expected to maintain better physical health, mental health, and cognitive function as they aged were more likely to report better current cognitive performance and less cognitive decline. This suggests that our expectations about aging don’t operate in isolation – how we think about physical aging might influence our mental performance and vice versa.
These findings have significant implications. Unlike many factors that influence cognitive aging, such as genetics or past education, expectations about aging are malleable. They can be changed through education, exposure to positive aging role models, and challenging negative aging stereotypes.
Consider Sarah, a hypothetical 70-year-old who believes that significant memory loss is an inevitable part of aging. When she forgets where she parked her car at the grocery store, she might immediately attribute this to age-related decline, causing anxiety that could actually interfere with her ability to remember. Meanwhile, her friend Janet, who maintains more positive expectations about aging, might view the same situation as a simple moment of distraction and quickly problem-solve without added stress.
“Aging expectations are malleable and influence an individual’s perceptions of their cognitive functioning,” says the study’s first author Nikki Hill, associate professor in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing at Penn State, in a statement. “Modifying older adults’ aging expectations could support healthier cognitive aging through increased awareness and accurate assumptions about the aging process.”
The study’s findings challenge common assumptions about aging and memory loss. While some cognitive changes are normal with age, expecting severe decline might actually contribute to perceived problems with thinking and memory. This creates a potential cycle where negative expectations lead to increased attention to and concern about normal cognitive hiccups, which in turn reinforces those negative expectations.
The research team suggests that modifying older adults’ expectations about aging could support healthier cognitive aging by increasing awareness and promoting more accurate assumptions about the aging process. This might involve educational programs that challenge negative aging stereotypes, promote examples of successful aging, and provide accurate information about normal versus concerning cognitive changes.
“Do people’s perceptions of what they expect aging to be in the future, in terms of physical health, mental health, cognitive health, affect the way that they perceive their cognitive performance?” says Hill. “If it does, then that gives us more clues about how to interpret people’s reports of cognitive changes and, potentially, how to intervene earlier to support people to maximize their aging outcomes.”
In a world where population aging is accelerating, understanding these connections between expectations and cognitive function could be crucial for promoting healthier aging across society. After all, as the study suggests, when it comes to cognitive aging, you might just be as sharp as you expect to be.
“If we can intervene in a way to ground aging expectations more in what is true and less stigmatized, then maybe we can help people clarify what they’re experiencing in terms of cognitive changes, which will support our ability to respond to individual needs for maximizing cognitive health,” concludes Hill.
Paper Summary
Methodology
The researchers conducted an online survey using the Qualtrics platform, recruiting participants aged 65-90 years old from across the United States. To measure aging expectations, they used a 12-item questionnaire called the Expectations Regarding Aging scale, which assessed participants’ views about physical health, mental health, and cognitive function in aging.
They also measured current cognitive abilities using an 8-item scale that asked about recent thinking and memory performance, and assessed perceived cognitive decline using a 12-item questionnaire that compared current cognitive abilities to those from 10 years ago. To ensure quality responses, the survey included attention check questions and excluded anyone with diagnosed cognitive impairment.
Key Results
The study found consistent relationships between aging expectations and cognitive self-perceptions. More positive expectations about aging were associated with better ratings of current cognitive abilities and less reported cognitive decline. These relationships held true across all three domains of aging expectations (physical, mental, and cognitive), with similar strength of associations. The effects were considered small to medium in statistical terms, suggesting meaningful but not overwhelming relationships.
Study Limitations
The online survey format meant participants needed internet access and computer skills, potentially excluding less tech-savvy older adults. The sample, while diverse, wasn’t fully representative of all cultural perspectives on aging.
The study also couldn’t determine whether cognitive expectations influence perceptions or vice versa, as it only captured one point in time. Additionally, without comprehensive cognitive testing, some participants might have had mild cognitive impairment that could have affected their responses.
Discussion & Takeaways
The study’s findings suggest that aging expectations are intricately connected with how older adults perceive their cognitive functioning. This relationship appears to be complex and multifaceted, involving not just expectations about cognitive aging but also beliefs about physical and mental health changes.
The researchers suggest that interventions aimed at promoting more positive, realistic expectations about aging might help support better cognitive health in older adults. They emphasize the need for future research to examine how these relationships develop over time and vary across different cultural and socioeconomic groups.
Funding & Disclosures
The study was supported by the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. The researchers reported no conflicts of interest.
I just commented on your article. I failed to add to my comments one of the quotes my husband and I always quote – “your not what you think you are, but what you think, you are.
Being 33 years old has been a very full life.
To add to your study, I have celebrated the 58th anniversary of my 33rd birthday. I have maintained that I am 33 for all these years. I still feel like a 33-year-old.
I recently had a series of strokes that impaired my memory and my capacity to vocalize any of my thoughts. My husband, who is also 33 for the 58th time, kept reminding me that a 33-year-old can recover from these strokes. He has never let me think I am too old to recover.
Almost one year later, with the help of a speech therapist, an occupational therapist and a physiotherapist, and a very supportive family and of course my wonderful husband, I am well on the way to recovery. I can speak (still with a bit of hesitation) and my memory is improving by the day. After all – I’m just 33.