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Cited by 214Aging and Gerontology ResearchSocial and Intergroup PsychologyRetirement, Disability, and Employment

Subliminal strengthening: improving older individuals' physical function over time with an implicit-age-stereotype intervention

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Levy, Becca R., Pilver, Corey, Chung, Pil H., Slade, Martin D.·2014·Psychological Science
DOI 10.1177/0956797614551970PMC PMC4372155
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Abstract

Negative age stereotypes that older individuals assimilate from their culture predict detrimental outcomes, including worse physical function. We examined, for the first time, whether positive age stereotypes, presented subliminally across multiple sessions in the community, would lead to improved outcomes. Each of 100 older individuals (age=61-99 years, M=81) was randomly assigned to an implicit-positive-age-stereotype-intervention group, an explicit-positive-age-stereotype-intervention group, a combined implicit- and explicit-positive-age-stereotype-intervention group, or a control group. Interventions occurred at four 1-week intervals. The implicit intervention strengthened positive age stereotypes, which strengthened positive self-perceptions of aging, which, in turn, improved physical function. The improvement in these outcomes continued for 3 weeks after the last intervention session. Further, negative age stereotypes and negative self-perceptions of aging were weakened. For all outcomes, the implicit intervention's impact was greater than the explicit intervention's impact. The physical-function effect of the implicit intervention surpassed a previous study's 6-month-exercise-intervention's effect with participants of similar ages. The current study's findings demonstrate the potential of directing implicit processes toward physical-function enhancement over time.

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  • These decisions may have been made without awareness, insofar as studies have shown ageism can operate subliminally.

    “These decisions may have been made without awareness, insofar as studies have shown ageism can operate subliminally [90, 159].”

    From Global reach of ageism on older persons' health: a systematic review (2020) · cites this paper as [159]

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  1. Cumming G Understanding the new statistics: Effect sizes, confidence intervals, and meta analyses 2012 Routledge New York

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Authors
Levy, B. R., Pilver, C., Chung, P. H., & Slade, M. D.
Affiliations
  • Yale University (US)
  • University of California, Berkeley (US)
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Science
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2014-10-17
Volume
25
Issue
12
Pages
2127-2135
ISSN
  • 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-9280
DOI
10.1177/0956797614551970
PMC
PMC4372155
OpenAlex
W2163187479
Cited by
214
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 1
FWCI
19.57
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation
  • Yale University
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Aging (R43AG023993, R01AG023993, R01AG032284)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL089314)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (5-T32-MH014235-37, T32MH014235)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Retirement, Disability, and Employment
Keywords
age stereotypes, subliminal priming, self-perception of aging, physical function, older adults
MeSH terms
Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Attitude to Health, Female, Health Promotion, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Self Concept, Stereotyping, Subliminal Stimulation, Health Behavior, Exercise

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