Does the effects of stereotypes depend upon task intensity ?

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Introduction: With the increase of age, a physical decline is generally observed, due to an inevitable biological process (e.g., Milanović et al., 2013). In addition to the natural phenomenon of aging, it seems that social factors, like stereotypes, can have a significant impact on physical capacity of elderly. On this basis, some studies have investigated if inducing a negative aging stereotype may impaired older adults' physical capacities, as predicted by the stereotype threat theory (Steele, 1997). However, the deleterious effect expected was not consistently found (e.g., Marquet et al., 2018). Previous studies, conducted in the cognitive domain, have shown that task difficulty could moderate the effect of stereotype threat (O'Brien & Crandall, 2003). Less is known however about the applicability of this moderator during physical tasks, which may potentially explain the mixed results observed. The aim of the present research was therefore to investigate the effect of the induction of aging stereotypes on older adults' physical capacities at different levels of task difficulty. Method: Fifty elderly women ranging from 67 to 95 years old (Mage = 73.6, SDage = 6.8) were recruited for a single session. Firstly, they were requested to perform a voluntary isometric contraction at a level of muscular effort that corresponded to four perceived effort intensities ("easy", "moderate", hard" and "very hard") reflecting different level of task difficulty (i.e., baseline measurements; T1). Next, they were randomly assigned to one the three following groups: a negative aging stereotype group, a positive aging stereotype group, and a control group. Finally, participants performed the same protocol as in T1 (i.e., T2). The strength produced at each intensity was the dependent variable. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models. Results: For the "easy" and "hard" intensities, results showed that participants in the negative stereotype group and in the positive stereotype group developed more strength after the stereotype manipulation than during baseline measurement. For the control condition, no significant difference emerged between T1 and T2 at these two intensities. At the "moderate" and "very hard" intensities, strength produced was similar between T1 and T2 for the three experimental groups.Discussion: The present research showed that the effects of stereotypes induction could be different according to the intensity of a task, and echoed Barber et al.'s (2020) recent study. While some results are not fully in line with the stereotype threat theory (i.e., no significant difference at the "very hard" intensity), this work provide evidence that, as in the cognitive domain, task difficulty could modulate the effect of aging stereotypes during physical tasks. References: Barber, S. J., Hamel, K., Ketcham, C., Lui, K., & Taylor-Ketcham, N. (2020). The effects of stereotype threat on older adults' walking performance as a function of task difficulty and resource evaluations. Psychology and Aging, 35, 250–266. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000440Marquet, M., Boutaayamou, M., Schwartz, C., Locquet, M., Bruyère, O., Croisier, J-L., & Adam, S. (2018). Does negative information about aging influence older adults' physical performance and subjective age? Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 78, 181-189. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2018.06.013Milanovic, Z., Pantelic, S., Trajkovic, Sporiš, G., Kostic, R., & James, N. (2013). Age-related decrease in physical activity and functional fitness among elderly men and women. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 8, 549-546. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S44112O'Brien, L. T., & Crandall, C. S. (2003). Stereotype threat and arousal: effects on women's math performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 782-789. http://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203029006010Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. The American Psychologist, 52, 613–629. doi : 10.1037/0003-066X.52.6.613

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