Michelle Horhota

Examining the relationship between subjective and objective memory performance in older adults: A meta-analysis.

Are the beliefs that older adults hold about their memory abilities associated with their scores on lab-based memory tasks? A review of the aging literature suggests that the correlation between subjective and objective memory is inconsistent, with some studies reporting significant effects and others reporting null results. A meta-analysis was conducted to quantitatively summarize the relationship between subjective memory, defined as general predictions about memory, and objective memory performance in older adults, and to examine the conditions under which this relationship may be strongest. This meta-analysis included 53 studies, each of which included a normatively aging older adult sample. Overall, the association between subjective and objective memory was small (r = .062, SE = 0.014) but reliably greater than zero. Moderator analyses were conducted to better understand the parameters of this effect. Age, years of education, gender, depression symptoms, length and format of subjective memory measures, and type of objective memory were significantly correlated with effect size. These results caution against relying on general subjective memory belief measures as a substitute for objective assessments of memory.

Does believing in “use it or lose it” relate to self-rated memory control, strategy use and recall?

After an oral free recall task, participants were interviewed about their memory. Despite reporting similar levels of perceived personal control over memory, older and young adults differed in the means in which they believed memory could be controlled. Older adults cited health and wellness practices and exercising memory, consistent with a “use it or lose it” belief system, more often than young adults who were more likely to mention metacognition and flexible strategy use as means of memory control. Young adults reported using more effective relational strategies during study for a free recall test. Use of relational strategies predicted recall in both age groups, but did not materially affect age differences in performance. Metacognitive beliefs, including implicit theories about aging and memory decline, memory self-concept, and perceived control over memory functioning, did not systematically correlate with strategy use or recall.

Identifying behavioral barriers to campus sustainability: A multi-method approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the behavioral barriers to sustainable action in a campus community. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports three different methodological approaches to the assessment of behavioral barriers to sustainable actions on a college campus. Focus groups and surveys were used to assess campus members’ opinions about the barriers that limit sustainable behaviors on campus. After identifying general barriers, behavioral assessment was used to assess specific barriers to energy conservation in a target location on campus and to develop an intervention to reduce energy use for that location. Findings – Across methodologies, four key behavioral barriers to sustainable actions were consistently reported: communication/awareness, inconvenience, financial concerns and lack of engagement. The intervention that was developed targeted the barriers of communication issues and lack of awareness and resulted in reduced energy use for a target campus location. Original...

Violate my beliefs? Then you're to blame! Belief content as an explanation for causal attribution biases.

We examined the extent to which the content of beliefs about appropriate behavior in social situations influences blame attributions for negative outcomes in relationship situations. Young, middle-aged, and older adults indicated their level of agreement to a set of traditional and nontraditional beliefs. Five months later, we assessed the degree to which these same individuals blamed traditional and nontraditional characters who violated their beliefs in 12 social conflict situations. Older adults held more traditional beliefs regarding appropriate relationship behaviors (e.g., the acceptability of premarital sex). Individual differences in the content of ones beliefs were needed to understand age-related patterns in blame attributions; for example, adherence to traditional beliefs about appropriate relationship behaviors led to higher responsibility and blame attributions toward characters behaving in ways that were inconsistent with these beliefs. Structural regression models showed that beliefs fully mediated the effects of working memory and need for closure on causal attributions and partially mediated the effects of age and religiosity on attributions. Personal identification with the characters had additional, independent effects on attributions. Findings are discussed from the theoretical perspective of a belief-based explanation of social judgment biases.

Young and Older Adults’ Beliefs about Effective Ways to Mitigate Age-Related Memory Decline

This study investigated whether young and older adults vary in their beliefs about the impact of various mitigating factors on age-related memory decline. Eighty young (ages 18-23) and 80 older (ages 60-82) participants reported their beliefs about their own memory abilities and the strategies that they use in their everyday lives to attempt to control their memory. Participants also reported their beliefs about memory change with age for hypothetical target individuals who were described as using (or not using) various means to mitigate memory decline. There were no age differences in personal beliefs about control over current or future memory ability. However, the two age groups differed in the types of strategies they used in their everyday life to control their memory. Young adults were more likely to use internal memory strategies, whereas older adults were more likely to focus on cognitive exercise and maintaining physical health as ways to optimize their memory ability. There were no age differences in rated memory change across the life span in hypothetical individuals. Both young and older adults perceived strategies related to improving physical and cognitive health as effective means of mitigating memory loss with age, whereas internal memory strategies were perceived as less effective means for controlling age-related memory decline.

Engaging Incoming First-Year Students: Lessons Learned from a Sustainability Orientation Session

On many college and university campuses across the United States, one of the largest barriers to sustainability is the lack of engagement from students. Furman University in Greenville, South Carol...

Is Ageism Acceptable When it Comes From a Familiar Partner

OBJECTIVES This study investigated the perceived acceptability of benevolent and hostile ageist behaviors targeting older adults and whether the acceptability varied depending on the age of the perceiver and the relationship between the person engaging in the ageist behavior and the recipient of the ageist behavior. METHOD Young, middle-aged, and older adult participants rated the acceptability of 13 benevolent and 17 hostile ageist behaviors targeting older adults for five different relationship types: younger family members, same-age family members, familiar service workers, unfamiliar service workers, and friends. RESULTS Participants, regardless of age, rated benevolent ageism to be more acceptable than hostile ageism. Young adults were more accepting of hostile ageist acts than middle-aged and older adults were. However, overall acceptability of hostile ageist acts was low. Familiarity with the perpetrator also affected perceptions of the acceptability of ageist acts. DISCUSSION Perceptions of the acceptability of ageism targeting older adults differed as a function of participant age, ageism type, and relationship type. Findings are discussed in light of social identity theory and intergroup contact theory.

Age differences in perceptions of memory strategy effectiveness for recent and remote memory

ABSTRACT We examined whether young and older adults hold different beliefs about the effectiveness of memory strategies for specific types of memory tasks and whether memory strategies are perceived to be differentially effective for young, middle-aged, and older targets. Participants rated the effectiveness of five memory strategies for 10 memory tasks at three target ages (20, 50, and 80 years old). Older adults did not strongly differentiate strategy effectiveness, viewing most strategies as similarly effective across memory tasks. Young adults held strategy-specific beliefs, endorsing external aids and physical health as more effective than a positive attitude or internal strategies, without substantial differentiation based on task. We also found differences in anticipated strategy effectiveness for targets of different ages. Older adults described cognitive and physical health strategies as more effective for older than middle-aged targets, whereas young adults expected these strategies to be equally effective for middle-aged and older target adults.