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Reducing Cardiovascular Stress With Positive Self-Stereotypes of Aging

^a Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
^b Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
^c Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Becca R. Levy, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, 60 College St., P.O. Box 208034, New Haven, CT 06520-8034 E-mail: becca.levy{at}yale.edu.

Decision Editor: Toni C. Antonucci, PhD

We examined whether aging self-stereotypes, or older individuals' beliefs about elderly people, can influence cardiovascular function. Older individuals were subliminally exposed to either positive or negative aging stereotypes. Then all participants faced mathematical and verbal challenges. Those exposed to the negative aging stereotypes demonstrated a heightened cardiovascular response to stress, measured by systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate, compared with those exposed to positive aging stereotypes. The aging stereotypes appeared to influence the outcome variable of skin conductance in the same way. It appears that the negative aging stereotypes acted as direct stressors, whereas the positive aging stereotypes reduced cardiovascular stress. These findings indicate that negative aging stereotypes may contribute to adverse health outcomes in elderly persons without their awareness. The results also suggest that positive aging stereotypes could be used in interventions to reduce cardiovascular stress.

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