Adults' Efficacy and Control Beliefs Regarding Memory and Aging: Separating General from Personal Beliefs

Abstract

This study examined beliefs about memory in 307 18-93 year-old community-dwelling adults. Two new questionnaires, the General Beliefs about Memory (GBMI) and the Personal Beliefs about Memory (PBMI) Instruments, were used to compare and contrast beliefs about memory in the general population of adults from beliefs about one's own memory. Both questionnaires used a graphic rating scale format to obtain more refined responses. The GBMI showed that, on average, all age groups perceived the average adult as experiencing curvilinear decline over the adult life span for multiple aspects of memory, with the greatest changes believed to occur after age 40. Beliefs about different specific types of memory were consistent with lay beliefs and with empirical results regarding aging and memory (e.g., memory for names was perceived to decline more rapidly than memory for faces). In contrast to earlier studies, small but significant age differences between young, middle-aged, and older respondents regarding beliefs about rates of memory aging were identified. Results for the PBMI indicated that personal beliefs were strongly related to, but distinct from, general beliefs. Older adults believed themselves to be lower in memory efficacy, to have declined more than younger adults, and to have less personal control over memory, as in earlier research.