Getting older brings certain expectations, from gray hair and wrinkles to more bouts of forgetfulness. While these beliefs may seem harmless, whether a person views these changes in a positive or negative light may influence how they perceive their cognitive abilities, according to a new study from researchers in the Penn State College of Nursing. The team found that people who had more positive expectations of aging tended to report less frequent cognitive problems, such as difficulty concentrating or keeping track of what they were doing.
They were also less likely to report that their cognitive performance had declined over time. The findings were published in the journal Aging & Mental Health. "Aging expectations are malleable and influence an individual's perceptions of their cognitive functioning ," said Nikki Hill, associate professor in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing at Penn State, who is first author on the paper.
"Modifying older adults' aging expectations could support healthier cognitive aging through increased awareness and accurate assumptions about the aging process." Previous research has found that expectations about aging, such as whether a person expects to maintain high levels of activity or if they expect everything to go downhill, are associated with health. Those with more negative aging expectations tend to experience worse outcomes, such as more rapid physical and cognitive decline, while positive perceptions of aging are linked to behavio.
