Subliminal Strengthening Improving Older Individuals’ Physical Function Over Time With an Implicit-Age-Stereotype Intervention

What stroke protocol is your doctor following to make sure that positive age stereotypes are presented to survivors so as not to worsen your recovery?
http://pss.sagepub.com/content/25/12/2127.abstract

1. Becca R. Levy1
2. Corey Pilver2
3. Pil H. Chung3,4
4. Martin D. Slade5

1. ¹Social and Behavioral Sciences Division, School of Public Health, Yale University
2. ²Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Yale University
3. ³Department of Demography, University of California, Berkeley
4. ⁴Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley
5. ⁵Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Yale University

1. Becca R. Levy, Yale University, Social and Behavioral Sciences Division, School of Public Health, 60 College St., P. O. Box 208034, New Haven, CT 06520-8034 E-mail: becca.levy@yale.edu

1. Author Contributions B. R. Levy developed the study concept. B. R. Levy, P. H. Chung, and C. Pilver developed the study design. C. Pilver oversaw data collection and data entry. C. Pilver and M. D. Slade conducted data analysis. B. R. Levy drafted and revised the manuscript with advice from the other authors.

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.