Think you're old? It may show in memory test

Think You're Old? It May Show in Memory Test
[19 July 2006 - International Herald Tribune / New York Times] Resigning yourself to old age may produce the very mental lapses that most people fear will strike them in their golden years. In a paper appearing in the current issue of the journal Social Cognition, psychologists report that men and women in late middle age underperformed on a standard memory test when told they were part of a study including people over age 70. Inclusion with an older group - an indirect reminder of the link between age and memory slippage - was enough to affect their scores, especially for those who were most concerned about getting older, the authors concluded. Read more