The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences
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J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci · Mar 1998
Comparative StudyAge-biased interpretation of memory successes and failures in adulthood.
This study extends previous research, which has demonstrated that age stereotypes bias the interpretation of everyday memory failures, by examining the responses of 81 young and 84 old participants to questions about the meaning and causes of memory successes and failures. The scenarios used described memory situations in which age differences would be small or nonexistent and included situtional factors that could account for the memory outcome, providing a more stringent test of the age-bias hypothesis. ⋯ Moreover, memory failures are seen to be more strongly caused by lack of ability and viewed as more worrisome. Finally, memory outcomes, in general, are perceived to be less controllable for old targets.
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The idea of a long and stable career rewarded by retirement is a fixture of the American social ethos and political economy. The paradox is that many Americans' careers do not fit this image. ⋯ Occupational roles in the mid career also have long-term, indirect effects, operating through the onset of health problems and the adequacy of pension benefits. Although retirement and disability are not hinged to occupational mobility per se, these career endings are sensitive to major discontinuities in the career and work role in terms of unemployment and labor force mobility.