Personal Control Beliefs and Memory in Aging: Mediation by Health and Lifestyle
Poster Number
15B
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Carla Strickland-Hughes
Faculty Mentor Department
Psychology
Abstract/Artist Statement
Memory decline in aging is not universal but rather impacted by idiosyncratic factors, e.g., lifestyle. Control beliefs (belief one’s effort matters) might affect memory performance, and other behaviors critical for maintained memory. Higher levels of perceived mastery (global control belief) and physical health moderate age changes in memory (Gerstorf & Infurna, 2013; Robinson & Lachman, 2018), but role of mental health is unclear, as is the role of domain-specific control beliefs about memory. This research extends past work by testing the mediation of personal control beliefs on memory performance of middle-aged and older adults by (1) testing whether the relationship between control beliefs and memory was mediated by mental and physical health in parallel and (2) testing whether the relationship between control beliefs and memory were mediated in series by overall engagement in memory activities and specific mnemonic use. Participants were healthy, community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults (N=121; aged 51-93, M=73.3, SD= 8.32; 79% female; 92% white). Participants completed tests of episodic memory (delayed recall of a word list and learning new face-name pairs) and answered surveys about health (Ware et al., 1995), perceived mastery (Lachman & Weaver, 1998), memory control beliefs (Dixon et al., 1998) overall engagement in memory activities (Strickland-Hughes, 2017), and specific mnemonic use (West et al., 2012). The relationship between perceived mastery and memory was fully mediated by self-reported mental health. Further, a higher level of memory control beliefs was related to greater engagement in memory activities, which in turn was related to greater mnemonic use, and greater mnemonic use related to better memory. Thus, both global and domain-specific control beliefs may shape memory in aging. Further, our beliefs might relate to performance because of their relationship with a variety of personal and behavioral factors We propose cognitive interventions should target changes beliefs, not just techniques.
Location
DeRosa University Center Ballroom
Start Date
27-4-2018 12:30 PM
End Date
27-4-2018 2:30 PM
Personal Control Beliefs and Memory in Aging: Mediation by Health and Lifestyle
DeRosa University Center Ballroom
Memory decline in aging is not universal but rather impacted by idiosyncratic factors, e.g., lifestyle. Control beliefs (belief one’s effort matters) might affect memory performance, and other behaviors critical for maintained memory. Higher levels of perceived mastery (global control belief) and physical health moderate age changes in memory (Gerstorf & Infurna, 2013; Robinson & Lachman, 2018), but role of mental health is unclear, as is the role of domain-specific control beliefs about memory. This research extends past work by testing the mediation of personal control beliefs on memory performance of middle-aged and older adults by (1) testing whether the relationship between control beliefs and memory was mediated by mental and physical health in parallel and (2) testing whether the relationship between control beliefs and memory were mediated in series by overall engagement in memory activities and specific mnemonic use. Participants were healthy, community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults (N=121; aged 51-93, M=73.3, SD= 8.32; 79% female; 92% white). Participants completed tests of episodic memory (delayed recall of a word list and learning new face-name pairs) and answered surveys about health (Ware et al., 1995), perceived mastery (Lachman & Weaver, 1998), memory control beliefs (Dixon et al., 1998) overall engagement in memory activities (Strickland-Hughes, 2017), and specific mnemonic use (West et al., 2012). The relationship between perceived mastery and memory was fully mediated by self-reported mental health. Further, a higher level of memory control beliefs was related to greater engagement in memory activities, which in turn was related to greater mnemonic use, and greater mnemonic use related to better memory. Thus, both global and domain-specific control beliefs may shape memory in aging. Further, our beliefs might relate to performance because of their relationship with a variety of personal and behavioral factors We propose cognitive interventions should target changes beliefs, not just techniques.