Senior citizens,
don’t believe the hype. Because a new study finds that older folks who accept
that seniors’ memories get worse do worse on memory tests. The finding was
published in the journal Experimental Aging Research.
老人们，别听信传言。一项新的研究表明，那些认为自己年龄大了记忆就差的人的确在记忆力测试上得了低分。该成果刊载于《实验性年龄研究》。
Scientists interested
in the effects of stereotype on memory enlisted 103 seniors between 60- and
82-years-old to take a memory test. Before the test, some subjects were told
that the test checked the effects of age on memory. Researchers call this a
threat—it reminds participants of the stereotype. That group was also asked to
write down their age after reading the instructions, again homing in on the
stereotype.
那些好奇人们的成见对记忆力的影响的科学家们对103名介于60到82岁的老人进行了一次记忆力测试。测试之前，一些参与测试者被告知，测试的目的是检验年龄和记忆力的相关性。实验人员称这是一种威胁——它提醒了被测试者这种成见的存在。这一组在读过说明之后需要写下他们的年龄，这再次提醒了这种成见的存在。
The other group was
told that the test controlled for biases. This could make them feel more secure.
Researchers also gave participants a stigma consciousness questionnaire to test
how strongly they bought into negative stereotypes.
另一组参与测试者被告知这次测试是为了否定年龄越大记忆力越差的成见。这让被测试者感到更有安全感。与此同时，实验人员给被测者一份耻辱意识问卷调查表来测试谁更容易被消极的成见所影响。
The results:
participants who got reminded of their age and the old age, poor memory
stereotype did significantly worse. Those who say they feel stigmatized also
performed more poorly. So your memory may function better just by believing that
it will. In which case, you really will eventually figure out where you left
your car keys.
结果是：被提示自己年龄大、记忆力越老越差的被测试者的确成绩不好，而那些容易受成见影响的人更是差得多。所以换言之，如果你相信自己的记忆力，它就会变好。这样的话，当你忘了自己的车钥匙在哪儿，你就能立刻指出来。
