刻板印象威胁对老年人记忆力的影响：效应、机制及应对

Stereotype threat refers to the phenomenon whereby individuals perform more poorly on a task when a relevant stereotype is made salient in the performance situation. Using the elderly adult as subjects, the stereotype threat effects on memory performance should be systematically investigated in series of studies. We intend to investigate three topics, including: 1) the effects of stereotype threat on memory performance and working self-concept among elderly adults; 2) the behavioral and cognitive neural mechanisms of the effects of stereotype threat on memory performance; 3) the effective strategy that elderly adults used to coping with negative stereotype threats and its related behavioral and cognitive neural mechanisms. Based on the results of these studies, we try to answer three key questions, including: 1) does the stereotype threat have the significant influences on memory performance and cognitive process? 2) what are the behavioral and cognitive neural mechanisms for the effects of stereotype threat on the memory performance? 3) what is the effective strategy for elderly adults coping with the effects of stereotype threat, as well as what are the mechanisms for coping with stereotype threat effects? Results of present studies should have important implications in that they will be helpful for understanding the reasons of memory loss, and they also can be the theoretical frameworks for the treatment or prevention of cognitive aging among elderly adults.

刻板印象威胁是指知觉到情境中存在消极刻板印象时，个体在相关领域中的任务表现会受到损害的一种社会心理现象。本项目拟以老年人为研究对象，计划研究：（1）刻板印象威胁对老年人记忆测验和工作自我概念的效应；（2）刻板印象威胁对老年人记忆能力产生影响的行为机制和认知神经机制；（3）老年人应对刻板印象威胁的有效策略及其行为机制和认知神经机制。通过以上研究拟解决三个关键问题：（1）消极刻板印象威胁是否会影响老年人的记忆能力和认知加工？（2）刻板印象威胁对老年人记忆能力发生效应的行为机制和认知神经机制是什么？（3）老年人使用什么样的策略可以有效应对刻板印象威胁效应，以及应对刻板印象威胁效应的机制是什么？本项目的研究结果将有助于更加全面地理解老年人记忆能力衰退的原因，也可为有效地延缓和预防认知老化提供一定的理论依据。

项目围绕老年人记忆相关消极刻板印象威胁效应展开三方面研究：首先，探讨了刻板印象威胁对老年人记忆能力和工作自我概念的效应；其次，检验刻板印象威胁效应的行为机制及其干预策略；最后，揭示刻板印象威胁效应对老年人记忆能力作用的认知神经机制。通过系列实验研究，结果显示：（1）行为效应方面，与控制组相比，刻板印象威胁组被试的记忆力测验成绩明显下降，同时消极自我表征被激活，在工作自我概念中占有主导地位；（2）消极的工作自我概念可以中介刻板印象威胁对老年人再认成绩的效应，消极工作自我概念的激活可能是刻板印象威胁效应的一个机制；（3）在ERP实验中，消极自我概念诱发了更低的早期P150/N170复合成分波幅和更大的晚正成分P300 波幅，以及更过得theta 频段能量。另外，刻板印象威胁情境诱发了更小的theta频段试次间一致性和更大的 alpha频段试次间一致性。这些结果表明老年刻板印象威胁激活了消极自我概念作为当前的工作自我概念，并且刻板印象威胁对工作自我概念的影响体现在工作自我概念加工较晚的进程中（300ms 之后），并不能影响早期的加工进程。本项目从社会因素出发，探讨刻板印象威胁对老年人记忆衰退的影响，并结合心理因素尝试揭示其可能的作用机制，更好地理解老年人记忆衰退的原因，丰富了老年人记忆能力发展的相关理论，为临床上预防和干预年人记忆力衰退提供了理论基础。