Featured in Newsletter #021 "How Many Children Shall We Have

Fertility, mortality, migration, and population scenariosfor 195 countries and territories from 2017 to 2100: a forecasting analysis for
the Global Burden of Disease Study

Vollset et al

The Lancet 2020, Vol396 1285-1306

Understanding potential patterns in future population levels is crucial for anticipating and planning for changing age structures, resource
and health-care needs, and environmental and economic landscapes. Future fertility patterns are a key input to estimation of future population size, but they are surrounded by substantial uncertainty and diverging methodologies of estimation and forecasting, leading to important differences in global population projections. Changing population size and age structure might have profound economic, social, and geopolitical impacts in many countries. In this study, we developed novel methods for forecasting mortality, fertility, migration, and population. We also assessed potential economic and geopolitical effects of future demographic shifts.

We modelled future population in reference and alternativescenarios as a function of fertility, migration, and mortality rates. We
developed statistical models for completed cohort fertility at age 50 years (CCF50). Completed cohort fertility is much more stable over time than the period measure of the total fertility rate (TFR). We modelled CCF50 as a time-series random walk function of educational attainment and contraceptive met need. Age-specific fertility rates were modelled as a function of CCF50 and covariates. We modelled age-specific mortality to 2100 using underlying mortality, a risk factor scalar, and an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model. Net migration was modelled as a function of the Socio-demographic Index, crude population growth rate, and deaths from war and
natural disasters; and use of an ARIMA model. The model framework was used to develop a reference scenario and alternative scenarios based on the pace of change in educational attainment and contraceptive met need. We estimated the size of gross domestic product for each country and territory in the reference scenario. Forecast uncertainty intervals (UIs) incorporated uncertainty propagated from past data inputs, model estimation, and forecast data distributions.

Findings suggest a shifting age structure in many parts ofthe world, with 2·37 billion (1·91–2·87) individuals older than 65 years and
1·70 billion (1·11–2·81) individuals younger than 20 years, forecasted globally in 2100. By 2050, 151 countries were forecasted to have a TFR lower than the replacement level.

Featured in #040 Newsletter Shopping: Carts and Perceptions

" EXPRESS: Getting a handle on Sales: Shopping Carts affect purchasing by Activating Arm Muscles",

Estes, Z.; Streicher

Journal of Marketing, (2022) 1-18

This Journal of Marketing study tested a completely different handle design for supermarket trolleys. They replaced the horizontal pushing bar with two handles comparable to a wheel barrow. These were on either side of the trolley. They were about 10 centimetres lower than the traditional handle. The objective was to activate the biceps rather than the triceps.

A field study in a real supermarket demonstrated surprising results. The new design induced shoppers to spend more than the normal design. Not only did they spend more money they bought more items. Not only more items but more unique items. The trolley seemed to induce “impulse purchases”. Only the buying of "stockpile" products did not change.

Our perception is not just influenced by our traditional senses. It can also be affected the muscles that we use. There is, in fact, a large literature in psychology on the impact of using the biceps or the triceps.

Researchers suggested that this is due again to the associations within our memory. The biceps are used to draw things towards us. We use the biceps to bring food to our mouths. We use the biceps to draw those that we love to ourselves. The triceps are associated with “pushing things away”. The “wheel barrow handles” were shown to activate the biceps. In one study respondents were asked to evaluate Chinese characters. They could not speak Chinese so the ideographs were meaningless. Half the characters were assessed whilst pressing down on the table with the palms of the hands. The other half with the hands pressing upwards on the underside of the table. Pressing down activates the triceps, pressing up the biceps. With the biceps engaged identical characters were evaluated more positively.

Smart Shopping Carts: How Real Time Feedback InfluencesSpending

Koert van Ittersum, Brian Wansink, Joost M.E. Pennings,& Daniel Sheehan

Journal of Marketing 21 Vol. 77 (November 2013), 21 –36

Although interest in smart shopping carts is increasing,both retailers and consumer groups have concerns about how real-time spending feedback will influence shopping behavior. Building on budgeting and spending theories,the authors conduct three lab and grocery store experiments that robustly show that real-time spending feedback has a diverging impact on spending depending on whether a person is budget constrained (“budget” shoppers) or not (“nonbudget” shoppers). Real-time spending feedback stimulates budget shoppers
to spend more (by buying more national brands). In contrast, this feedback leads nonbudget shoppers to spend less (by replacing national brands with store brands). Furthermore, smart shopping carts increase repatronage intentions for budget shoppers while keeping them stable for nonbudget shoppers. These findings underscore fundamental unexplored differences between budget and nonbudget shoppers. Moreover, they have key implications for both brick-and-mortar and online retailers as well as app developers.

Culture and Fertility Featured in Newsletter #043 "Binge Watching"

Soap Operas and Fertility: Evidence from Brazil

La Ferrara, E.; Chung, A.; Duryen, S.

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics,(2012), 1-31

In 1960 the average Brazilian female would have 6.3 children. This had fallen to 2.3 by 2000. It is 1.76 today and dropped below the replacement rate around 2004. The team wanted to understand the drivers of the decline from 1960 to 2000. They used the usual predictors: female education, availability of contraception and prosperity.

It was clear that their models were not explaining everything. Fertility did not drop consistently over time. There was also a lot of variability by geography. Cities and states started to decline at different times. National television started in the middle of the sixties. Television ownership in 1991 had risen to 91%. Education levels in Brazil were generally lower than its neighbours. They wondered whether messages were reaching people more through TV than the classroom.

Soap Operas in Brazil.

The vast majority of people in Brazil watch the soap operas or novellas as they are called. The Rede Globo channel has a virtual monopoly on novellas. It was founded in 1965. Its coverage of the population grew as it rolled out transmission masts around the country. Its coverage in 1980 had grown to 45%. By 1991 it had reached 92%. It is now the fourth largest television station in the world after the three major US channels.

Soap Operas and Fertility

What the researchers realized was that the unexplained drops in fertility corresponded to the roll out of the Globo channel. They could see the drops even in a small metropolitan area covered by a single new mast. They could see that the declines were not happening before the arrival of Globo. Fertility drops instead one year after transmission starts. Fertility is measured by births not pregnancies This was exactly the expected pattern.

To understand why this might be happening they had to look at the content of the novellas. They chose only the 7pm and 8pm shows but still had to watch 110 different series! They spanned the period 1965 to 1999. They watched all episodes to understand the “message” coming from the TV. They were particularly interested in the role of women.

What they found was a novella world a million miles away from the lives of most of the viewers. Of all the lead female characters 62% had no children. 20% had only one child. For characters portrayed as younger than 50, 71% had no children. Even amongst married characters 45% had no children and 30% had only a single child.

Was it these role models influencing fertility or was it simply the TV itself? They looked at the naming pattern for children by geography. They looked at the top 20 most popular names in each area. Many names in the novellas are idiosyncratic. They found a 33% match between the characters and the children’ s names in areas where Globo broadcast. This dropped to 8% in areas where it was not transmitted. People were certainly watching the novellas.

Further evidence came from the details of the characters. The impact on fertility was higher when the age of the woman matched the age of the novella character. Fertility amongst the 15-24 age group in Brazil did not change in the period. Few lead characters were in this age band. The effect is strong for the 25-34 age group and strongest for the 35-44 age group. Lower socio economic age groups appeared to be influenced more. The novellas portrayed aspirational middle class or upper middle class homes.

Why were the Worlds in the Novellas so Different to Reality?

Military dictatorship in Brazil started on April 1st 1964. It lasted for 21 years. Throughout the development of the novella, Brazil was under military censorship. The novellas attracted very high calibre script writers. Many were already important writers looking for a vehicle for their anti- government feelings. The plots were designed to undermine. Over half of the married women characters were having affairs. There is widespread female emancipation at work. The novellas portray women pursuing their own pleasure and love. They are anti-machismo. There is a strong emphasis across all characters on individualism. Homosexuality is acceptable and everyone criticizes religion and traditional values. 

February 2022

Featured in #049 Early Birds and Night Owls  

The aging clock: circadian rhythms and later life

Suzanne Hood and Shimon Amir 

Journal of Clinical Investigation (2017), 437-446 

Circadian rhythms play an influential role in nearly all aspects of physiology and behavior in the vast majority of species on Earth. The biological clockwork that regulates these rhythms is dynamic over the lifespan: rhythmic activities such as sleep/wake patterns change markedly as we age, and in many cases they become increasingly fragmented. Given that prolonged disruptions of normal rhythms are highly detrimental to health, deeper knowledge of how our biological clocks change with age may create valuable opportunities to improve health and longevity for an aging global population. In this Review, we synthesize key findings from the study of circadian rhythms in later life, identify patterns of change documented to date, and review potential physiological mechanisms that may underlie these changes.

Featured in Newsletter #050 Pushed or Pulled Migrants 

Estimation of emigration, return migration, and transitmigration between all pairs of countries

Jonathan J. Azosea, and Adrian E. Rafterya,

116–122 | PNAS | January 2, 2019 | vol. 116 | no. 1

We propose a method for estimating migration flows betweenall pairs of countries that allows for decomposition of migration into
emigration, return, and transit components. Current state-of-the[1]art estimates ofbilateral migration flows rely on the assumption that the number of global migrants is as small as possible. We relax this assumption, producing complete estimates of all between country migrationflows with genuine estimates of total global migration. We find that the total number of individuals migraing internationallyhas oscillated between 1.13 and 1.29% of the global population per 5-year period since 1990. Return migration and transit migration are big parts of total migration; roughly one of four migration events is a return to an individual’s country of birth. In the most recent time period, we estimate particularly large return migration flows from the United States to Central and South America and from the Persian Gulf to south Asia

Featured in #056 Beware Psychologists Carrying Tests 

A Sensory Origin for Color-Word Stroop Effects in Aging: Simulating Age-Related Changes in Colorvision Mimics Age-Related Changes in Stroop 

Boaz M. Ben-David & Bruce A. Schneider

Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition (2010) , 730-746

An increase in Stroop effects with age can be interpreted as reflecting age-related reductions in selective attention, cognitive slowing, or
color-vision. In the present study, 88 younger adults performed a Stroop test with two color-sets, saturated and desaturated, to simulate an age-related decrease in color perception. This color manipulation with younger adults was sufficient to lead to an increase in Stroop effects that mimics age-effects. We conclude that age-related changes in color perception can contribute to the differences in Stroop effects observed in aging. Finally, we suggest that the clinical applications of Stroop take this factor into account.

Emergence of a Powerful Connection Between Sensory and Cognitive Functions Across the Adult Life Span: A New Window to the Study of Cognitive Aging? 

Paul B. Baltes and Ulman Lindenberger

Psychology and Aging (1997) 12-21

Six hundred eighty seven individuals ages 25-103 years werestudied cross-sectionally to examine the relationship between measures of
sensory functioning (visual and auditory acuity) and intelligence (14 cognitive tasks representing a 5-factor space of psychometric intelligence). As predicted, the average proportion of individual differences in intellectual functioning connected to sensory functioning increased from 11% in adulthood (25-69 years) to 31% in old age (70-103 years). However, the link between fluid intellectual abilities and sensory functioning, albeit of different size, displayed a similarly high connection to age in both age groups. Several explanations are discussed, including a "common cause" hypothesis. In this vein, we argue that the increase in the age-associated link between
sensory and intellectual functioning may reflect brain aging and that the search for explanations of cognitive aging phenomena would benefit from attending to factors that are shared between domains

Negative Aging Stereotypes Impair Performance on BriefCognitive Tests Used to Screen for Predementia 

Marie Mazerolle, Isabelle Régner,Sarah J. Barber Marc Paccalin, Aimé-Chris Miazola, Pascal Huguet, and
François Rigalleau

Journals of Gerontology: PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES (2017), 932-936

There is today ampleevidence that negative aging stereotypes impair healthy older adults’ performance on cognitive tasks. Here, we tested whether these stereotypes also decrease performance during the screening for predementia on short cognitive tests widely used in primary care. An experiment was conducted on 80 healthy older adultstaking the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) under Threat or Reduced-threat condition. Stereotype threat significantly impaired older adults’ erformance on both tests, resulting in 40% of older adults meeting the screening criteria for predementia, compared with 10% in Reduced-threat condition (MMSE and MoCA averaged).

Our research highlights the influence of aging stereotypes on short cognitive tests used to screen for predementia. It is of critical
importance that physicians provide a threat-free testing environment. Further research should clarify whether this socially induced bias may also operate in secondary care by generating false positives.

Adapting Test Timing to the Sleep-Wake Schedule: Effects on Diurnal Neurobehavioral Performance Changes in Young Evening and Older Morning Chronotypes

Christina Schmidt,Philippe Peigneux, Christian Cajochen, and Fabienne Collette

Chronobiology International, 482–490, (2012)

The synchrony effect refers to the beneficial impact of temporal matching between the timing of cognitive task administration and preferred time-of-day for diurnal activity. Aging is often associated with an advance in sleep wake timing and concomitant optimal performance levels in the morning. In contrast, young adults often perform better in the evening hours. So far, the synchrony effect has been tested at fixed clock times, neglecting the individual’s sleep-wake schedule and thus introducing confounds, such as differences in accumulated sleep pressure or circadian phase, which may exacerbate synchrony effects.

To probe this hypothesis, the authors tested older morning and young evening chronotypes with a psychomotor vigilance and a Stroop paradigm once at fixed morning and evening hours and once adapting testing time to their preferred sleep-wake schedule in a within subject design.

The authors observe a persistence of synchrony effects for overall median reaction times during apsychomotor vigilance task, even when testing time is adapted to the specific individual’s sleep-wake schedule.However, data analysis also indicates that time-of-day modulations are weakened under those conditions forincongruent trials on Stroop performance and the slowest reaction times on the psychomotor vigilance task. Thelatter result suggests that the classically observed synchrony effect may be partially mediated by a series ofparameters, such as differences in socio-professional timing constraints, the amount of accumulated sleep need, orcircadian phase, all leading to differential arousal levels at testing

Effects of Aging and Noise on Real-Time Spoken Word Recognition: Evidence From Eye Movements

Boaz M. Ben-David, Craig G. Chambers, Meredyth Daneman, M. Kathleen Pichora-Fuller, E. M. Reingold, Bruce A. Schneider 

Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 243–262, 2011

To use eye tracking to investigate age differences in real-time lexical processing in quiet and in noise in light of the fact that older adults find it more difficult than younger adults to understand conversations in noisy situations.Twenty-four younger and 24 older adults followed spoken instructions referring to depicted objects, for example, “Look at the candle.” Eye movements captured listeners’ ability to differentiate the target noun (candle) from a similarsounding phonological competitor (e.g., candy or sandal). Manipulations included the presence/absence of noise, the type of phonological overlap in target–competitorpairs, and the number of syllables.Having controlled for age-related differences in word recognition accuracy (by tailoring noise levels), similar online processing profiles were found for younger and older adults when targets were discriminated from competitors that shared onset sounds. Age-related differences were found when target words were differentiated from rhyming competitors and were more extensive in noise.Real-time spoken word recognition processes appear similar for younger and older adults in most conditions; however, age-related differences may be found in the discrimination of rhyming words (especially in noise), even when there are no age differences in word recognition accuracy.

Featured in Newsletter #058 100 Years for Ageism to Fail.

Patterns of Implicit and Explicit Stereotypes III: Long-Term Change in Gender Stereotypes

Tessa E. S. Charlesworth and Mahzarin R. Banaji

Social Psychological and Personality Science 1-13 2021

Gender stereotypes are widely shared “collective representations” that link gender groups (e.g., male/female) with roles or attributes (e.g., career/family, science/arts). Such collective stereotypes, especially implicit stereotypes, are assumed to be so deeply embedded in society that they are resistant to change. Yet over the past several decades, shifts in real-world gender roles suggest the possibility that gender stereotypes may also have changed alongside such shifts. The current project tests the patterns of recent gender stereotype change using a decade (2007–2018) of continuously collected data from 1.4 million implicit and explicit tests of gender stereotypes (male-science/female-arts, male-career/female-family). Time series analyses revealed that, over just 10 years, both implicit and explicit male-science/female-arts and male-career/female-family stereotypes have shifted toward neutrality, weakening by 13%–19%. Furthermore, these trends were observed across nearly all demographic groups and in all geographic regions of the United States and several other countries, indicating worldwide shifts in collective implicit and explicit gender types.

The Relationship of Implicit Social Cognition and Discriminatory Behavior 

Tessa E.S. Charlesworth & Mahzarin R. Banaji

Chapter to appear in Handbook on Economics of Discrimination and Affirmative Action (Ed. Deshpande, A.). 2021

When viewing the state of the world today, social and behavioral scientists face a puzzling inconsistency: how can it be that evidence of discrimination persists in all significant aspects of life, from housing and jobs to healthcare and law enforcement, even though individuals and institutions adamantly stand for equality in treatment? Over the past two decades, research has demonstrated that at least part of the answer to this puzzle can be attributed to the implicit nature of biases – attitudes, beliefs, and identities that are less conscious and controllable but that nevertheless exist and shape behavior. Indeed, today, we take it as given that evidence is strong and substantial for the presence of implicit bias in the minds and behaviors of individuals. This chapter, however, reviews an emerging body of research that uses massive, aggregated data across millions of tests of implicit attitudes and beliefs to understand outcomes of socially significant systemic behaviors ranging from the police use of lethal force to infant healthcare to school suspensions and discipline. Methodologically, the studies quantify social and psychological processes in the real world and introduce data of unprecedented scope across geography and time. Theoretically, this melding of psychological evidence about implicit bias aggregated across millions of individuals alongside large-scale socially significant behaviors underscores a new and more robust meaning of the term systemic discrimination: the results show the various ways that implicit bias both shapes and is shaped by broad structural systems and outcomes.

Implicit Social Cognition

Anthony G. Greenwald and Calvin K. Lai

Annual Review of Psychology 2020. 71:419–45

In the last 20 years, research on implicit social cognition has established that social judgments and behavior are guided by attitudes and stereotypes of which the actor may lack awareness. Research using the methods of implicit social cognition has produced the concept of implicit bias, which has generated wide attention not only in social, clinical, and developmental psychology, but also in disciplines outside of psychology, including business, law, criminal justice, medicine, education, and political science. Although this rapidly growing body of research offers prospects of useful societal applications, the theory needed to confidently guide those applications remains insufficiently developed. This article describes the methods that have been developed, the findings that have been obtained, and the theoretical questions that remain to be answered

November 2022

Featured in Newsletter Number #060 If You Rise I Fall

If you rise, I fall: Equality is prevented by the misperception that it harms advantaged groups 

N. Derek Brown, Drew S. Jacoby-Senghor, Isaac Raymundo

Psychological Science 2022

Nine preregistered studies (n = 4197) demonstrate that advantaged group members misperceive equality as necessarily harming their access to resources and inequality as necessarily benefitting them. Only when equality is increased within their ingroup, instead of between groups, do advantaged group members accurately perceive it as unharmful. Misperceptions persist when equality-enhancing policies offer broad benefits to society or when resources, and resource access, are unlimited. A longitudinal survey of the 2020 U.S. voters reveals that harm perceptions predict voting against actual equality-enhancing policies, more so than voters’ political and egalitarian beliefs. Finally two novel-groups experiments experiments reveal that advantaged participants’ harm misperceptions predict voting for inequality-enhancing policies that financially hurt them and against equality-enhancing policies that financially benefit them. Misperceptions persist even after an intervention to improve decision-making. This misperception that equality is necessarily zero-sum may explain why inequality prevails even as it incurs societal costs that harm everyone

Featured in Newsletter #062 The Emotional Labour of the Consumer

"New Vantage Points on Emotional Labor and its Service Context: An Introduction to the Emotional Labor and Service Special Issue."

Fischbach, A.; Schneider, B.

Journal of Service Management Research, 2021,215-228

What makes a good actor? When we go to a play we know why the lead actors got the starring parts. Their ability to inhabit their role means that they stand out. All actors know the script. They learned it before the first rehearsal. Only then can the director start to shape their performance. In the end, there are actors who “go through the motions”. They are called upon to be happy or bored and they do convey the correct facial expressions and movements. They are acting on the surface. The great actors are different. They make the emotions seem real. The can act from deep inside and make us believe that they really are sad, happy, angry etc.

The theatrical analogy for a service experience has a script, scenery and actors. Just like a play. The actors are the front line employees (FLE) and all the consumers. To work the service experience requires everyone to learn the script and to follow it. If they do the consumers will receive a satisfying experience and the operation will run efficiently. This is the idea of the co-production of a service and of the customer being a partial employee. Does the acting analogy go further and require employee and customer to engage their emotions?

Emotional Labour

For a long time organizational behaviour has looked at the emotional work done by employees. According to this idea there are display rules. These come from societal norms and from the “rules” imposed by management. The FLE’s need to express the correct emotion. They must smile and be friendly when they greet you. They must remain calm and detached when shouted at. They must regulate their emotions to act the part.

In the healthcare setting they have to remain happy and cheerful when dealing with harrowing situations. They must deal with the anguish of illness for the patient and their family. Researchers in organizational behaviour have called this “emotional labour”. This is the effort required to regulate internal emotions that do not match the role requirements.

There are two different kinds of employee acting. A surface pretence means smiling whilst you remain angry or sad. It is a veneer. As an actor you have not learned to invoke the emotions within yourself. Deep acting is much closer to the adoption of the role that a great actor can do. All the research suggests that surface acting is much more harmful to the firm and the individual. It causes unhappiness, internal conflict and low job satisfaction for the employee. In turn this leads to employee churn and industrial relations problems for the firm. Deep acting seems to be much less harmful to both. That completely artificial smile of welcome is not a good idea and probably does not fool the customer anyway.

Why do the FLEs behave in this way? There are societal norms about the service experience. No one expects these kinds of interactions to be conducted in anything but a civil way. During COVID 19 some of these rules broke down. The need for FLE’s to impose face mask wearing is not a normal part of the role. It has lead to well reported confrontations and a lot of extra emotional work.

The balance of the display rules comes from the firm. Many multi-site firms have “procedures manuals” that specify the role of the employee. Some specify the emotions as well “Make eye contact with customer and smile”. Display rules often come from the outlet or site manager. It is they that try to create the right “atmosphere” for the customer.

“Do Customers Regulate their Emotions? Development and Validation of a Model of Customer Emotional Labor”.

Imose, R.A.; Rogers, A.P.; Subramony, M.

Journal of Service Management Research,(2021, 241-255

In a recent article the “emotional work” idea was applied to consumers instead of employees. As partial employees we too must play our part. We must follow the mechanics of the script. We must also become emotional actors. The emotional script may not be consistent with how we feel at that moment. Indeed it may not be compatible with how would normally behave. To the extent that creates a gap it requires us to regulate our emotions just as much as the FLE’s. This research also developed a scale for measuring the emotional work of consumers.

Consumer effort in service encounters: the overlooked impact of surface acting

Laurel Aynne Cook, M. Paula Fitzgerald, Raika Sadeghein

Journal of Services Marketing (2022) 297–309

One shift in the retail landscape is the workload transfer from the retailer to the consumer. This study aims to explore consumer perceived effort and the consequences of this workload transfer. – Two scenario-based experiments were conducted. Partial least squares modelling was implemented on the experimental survey data to explore how different dimensions of effort (i.e. mental, physical and emotional) and surface acting contribute to perceptions of effort and value.

Surface acting increases consumer effort perceptions. Consumers’ value perceptions decline as perceived effort increases. Effort perceptions attenuate when consumers have a choice. The paper also brings attention to the shortcomings in the current conceptualization of surface acting and perceived effort, and reconceptualizes effort as a formative construct. This paper cautions marketers about the potential negative implications of shadow work. Service marketers should provide a choice between face-to-face (F2F) and self-service technologies whenever possible. In addition, marketers should develop and implement strategies for reducing consumer surface acting. This study includes an extended conceptualization and new operationalization of consumer surface acting, revised thinking about measuring consumer effort and a unique approach to accounting for effort perceptions of traditional F2F service vs SST.

Featured in Newsletter #065 The Japanese Herbivores

Trends in heterosexual inexperience among young adults in Japan: analysis of national surveys, 1987–2015

Cyrus Ghaznavi , Haruka Sakamoto , Daisuke Yoneoka , Shuhei Nomura , Kenji Shibuya and Peter Ueda

BMC Public Health (2019) 19:355

It has been suggested that an increasing number of Japanese adults remain sexually inexperienced; however, no study has assessed this issue using nationally representative data. We used data from seven rounds of the National Fertility Survey of Japan, 1987–2015, and included adults aged 18–39 years (18–34 years in the 1987 survey) in the analyses (sample size 11,553–17,850 [1987–2010]; response rate 70.0–92.5%).

The proportion of young Japanese adults with no experience of heterosexual intercourse had increased in the past two decades. Among adults in their thirties, around one in ten had no heterosexual experience. Unemployment, temporary/part-time employment and low income were associated with heterosexual inexperience among men. Further research is needed on the factors contributing to and the potential public health and demographic implications of the high proportion of the Japanese population that remains sexually inexperienced well into adult age.

Featured in Newsletter # 066: “250 Years of Ageism”

Quantitative Analysis of Culture Using Millions ofDigitized Books

Jean-Baptiste Michel et al

Science (2011) 176-182

We constructed a corpus of digitized texts containingabout 4% of all books ever printed. Analysis of this corpus enables us to
investigate cultural trends quantitatively. We survey the vast terrain of culturomics,' focusing on linguistic and cultural phenomena that were reflected in the English language between 1800 and 2000. We show how this approach can provide insights about fields as diverse as lexicography, the evolution of grammar, collective memory, the adoption of technology, the pursuit of fame, censorship, and historical epidemiology. Culturomics extends the boundaries of rigorous quantitative inquiry to a wide array of new phenomena spanning the social sciences and the humanities

Increasing Negativity of Age Stereotypes across 200 Years: Evidence from a Database of 400 Million Words

Reuben Ng, Heather G. Allore, Mark Trentalange, JoanK. Monin, Becca R. Levy

PLoS ONE 10(2): e0117086. (2015)

Scholars argue about whether age stereotypes (beliefsabout old people) are becoming more negative or positive over time. No previous study has systematically tested the trend of age stereotypes over more than 20 years, due to lack of suitable data. Our aim was to fill this gap by investigating whether age stereotypes have changed over the last two centuries and, if so, what may be associated with this change. We hypothesized that age
stereotypes have increased in negativity due, in part, to the increasing medicalization of aging. This study applied computational linguistics to the
recently compiled Corpus of Historical American English (COHA), a database of 400 million words that includes a range of printed sources from 1810 to 2009. After generating a comprehensive list of synonyms for the term elderly for these years from two historical thesauri, we identified 100 collocates (words that co-occurred most frequently with these synonyms) for each of the 20 decades. Inclusion criteria for the collocates were: (1) appeared within four words of the elderly synonym, (2) referred to an old person, and (3) had a stronger association with the elderly synonym than other words appearing in the database for that decade. This yielded 13,100 collocates that were rated for negativity and medicalization. We found that age stereotypes have become more negative in a linear way over 200 years. In 1880, age stereotypes switched from being positive to being negative. In addition, support was found for two potential explanations. Medicalization of aging and the growing proportion of the population over the age of 65 were both significantly associated with the increase in negative age stereotypes. The upward trajectory of age-stereotype negativity makes a case for remedial action on a societal level.

Aging Narratives Over 210 Years (1810–2019)

Reuben Ng and Ting Yu Joanne Chow

Journals of Gerontology: SOCIAL SCIENCES, 2021, Vol.76, No. 9

The World Health Organization launched arecent global campaign to combat ageism, citing its ubiquity and insidious threat to health. The historical context that promoted this pernicious threat is understudied, and such studies lay the critical foundation for designing societal-level campaigns to combat it. We analyzed the trend and content ofaging narratives over 210 years across multiple genres—newspaper, magazines, fiction, nonfiction books—and modeled the predictors of the observed trend. Method: A 600-million-word dataset was created from the Corpus of Historical American English and the Corpus of Contemporary American English to
form the largest structured historical corpus with over 150,000 texts from multiple genres. Computational linguistics and statistical techniques were applied to study the trend, content, and predictors of aging narratives.

Aging narratives have become more negative, in a linear fashion (p = .003), over 210 years. There are distinct shifts: From uplifting narratives of heroism and kinship in the 1800s to darker tones of illness, death, and burden in the 1900s across newspapers, magazines, and nonfiction books. Fiction defied this trend by portraying older adults positively through romantic courtship and war heroism. Significant predictors of ageism over 210 years are the medicalization of aging, loss of status, warmth, competence, and social ostracism.

Though it is unrealistic to reverse the course of ageism, its declining trajectory can be ameliorated. Our unprecedented study
lay the groundwork for a societal-level campaign to tackle ageism. The need to act is more pressing given the Covid-19 pandemic where older adults are constantly portrayed as vulnerable.

Featured in Newsletter #071 " Service Failures and the Older Consumers

Elderly customers’ reactions to service failures: the roleof future time perspective, wisdom and emotional intelligence

Walid Chaouali , Nizar Souiden, Christian Ringle

Journal of Services Marketing 2021 35/1, 65-77

Considering the scant scholarly research on elderlycustomers’ behaviours, this study aims to investigate elderly customers’
reactions to service failure. Additionally, it takes into account customers’
emotions and abilities to cope with stressful situations and achieve successful
problem-solving complaining. In particular, future time perspective, wisdom and
emotional intelligence were examined to delineate their impacts on the
elderly’s responses to service failures.

Data were collected in a French city through mall-interceptinterviewing. In total, 240 respondents participated, based on their
retrospective service failure experience. PLS-SEM was used to analyze the data.
Both wisdom and emotional intelligence were found to directly and positively
impact problem-solving complaining. Future time perspective, however, only had
an indirect effect on problem-solving complaining through wisdom and emotional
intelligence. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to
shed some light on how elderly customers constructively react to service
failures. To this end, it uses future time perspective, wisdom and emotional
intelligence, as well as their interrelationships, to explain elderly
customers’ problem-solving complaining.

Featured in Newsletter Number #075 The Most Used psychoactive Stimulant in the World

Caffeine’s Effects on Consumer Spending

Dipayan Biswas, Patrick Hartmann, Martin Eisend, Courtney Szocs, Bruna Jochims, Vanessa Apaolaza, Erik Hermann, Cristina M. López, Adilson Borges.

Journal of Marketing 2022

Caffeine is the world’s most popular stimulant and is consumed daily by a significant portion of the world’s population through coffee, tea, soda, and energy drinks. Consumers often shop online and in physical stores immediately after or while consuming caffeine. This is further facilitated by the increasing prevalence of coffee shops and also with some retail stores having in-store coffee bars and offering complimentary caffeinated beverages. This research examines how caffeine consumption before shopping influences purchase behavior. The results of a series of experiments conducted in the field (at multiple retail stores across different countries) and in the lab show that consuming a caffeinated (vs. non-caffeinated) beverage before shopping enhances impulsivity in terms of higher number of items purchased and higher spending. This effect is stronger for “high hedonic” products and attenuated for “low hedonic” products. These findings are important for managers to understand how a seemingly unrelated behavior (i.e., caffeine consumption) in and/or around the store affects spending. From a consumer perspective, while moderate amounts of caffeine consumption have positive health benefits, there can be unintended negative financial consequences of caffeine intake on spending. Hence, consumers trying to control impulsive spending should avoid consuming caffeinated beverages before shopping.

Featured in Newsletter #076 Too Hot to Think

Influence of Warm Versus Cool Temperatures on Consumer Choice: A Resource Depletion Account

Amar Cheema, Vanessa M. Patrick.

Journal of Marketing Research 2012 , 984-995

Across five studies, the authors demonstrate that warm (vs. cool) temperatures deplete resources, increase System 1 processing, and influence performance on complex choice tasks. Real-world lottery data (pilot study) and a lab experiment (Study 1) demonstrate the effect of temperature on complex choices: People are less likely to make difficult gambles in warmer temperatures. Study 2 implicates resource depletion as the underlying process; warm temperatures lower cognitive performance for nondepleted people but do not affect the performance of depleted people. Study 3 illustrates the moderating role of task complexity to show that warm temperatures are depleting and decrease willingness to make a difficult product choice. Study 4 juxtaposes the effects of depletion and temperature to reveal that warm temperatures hamper performance on complex tasks because of the participants' increased reliance on System 1 (heuristic) processes.

Warm Hearts and Cool Heads: Uncomfortable Temperature Influences Reliance on Affect in Decision-Making

Rhonda Hadi, Lauren Block

JACR 2019, 104-114

Can uncomfortable temperature exposure systematically influence consumers’ reliance on affect in decision-making? Using a thermoregulatory framework in which individuals are motivated to maintain thermal com[1]fort, we propose that individuals instinctively adopt a more (less) affective decision-making style in response to uncomfortable physical cold (warmth). We demonstrate that the adoption of an affective decision-making style makes individuals feel warmer (study 1) and more comfortable in response to uncomfortably cold temperature (study 2). Accordingly, individuals spontaneously rely more or less on affect when feeling uncomfortably cold or warm, respectively (study 3), which ultimately influences consequential downstream variables (e.g., willingness to pay; studies 4 and 5). This effect holds in response to both tactile (studies 3 and 4) and ambient (study 5) temperature exposure and is most exaggerated at extreme temperatures (when thermoregulatory objectives are at their strongest)

Featured in Newsletter #077 Baby Its Cold Outside

Warm It Up with Love: The Effect of Physical Coldness on Liking of Romance Movies

Jiewen Hong, Yacheng Sun.

Journal of Consumer Research, 2012, 293-306

Are romance movies more desirable when people are cold? Building on research on (bodily) feeling-as-information and embodied cognition, we hypothesize that physical coldness activates a need for psychological warmth, which in turn leads to an increased liking for romance movies. Four laboratory experiments and an analysis of online movie rental data provide support for our hypothesis. Specifically, studies 1A and 1B show that physical coldness increases the liking of and willingness to pay for romance movies. Study 2 shows that the effect of physical coldness on liking of romance movies only occurs for people who associate romance movies with psychological warmth. Study 3 shows that people correct for the influence of physical coldness on their liking of romance movies when physical coldness is made salient. In study 4, using data on online movie rentals and historical temperature, we found a negative relationship between weather temperature and preference for romance movies.

The Thermometer of Social Relations Mapping Social Proximity on Temperature

Hans IJzerman and Giin R. Semin

Psychological Science , October 2009, Vol. 20, No. 10 (October 2009), pp. 1214-1120

"Holding warmfeelings toward someone " and "giving someone the cold shoulder" i ndicate different levels of social proximity. In this article, we show effects of temperature that go beyond these metaphors people live by. In three experiments, warmer conditions, compared with colder conditions, induced (a) greater social proximity, (b) use of more concrete language, and (c) a more relational focus. Different temperature conditions were created by either handing participants warm or cold beverages (Experiment 1) or placing them in
comfortable warm or cold ambient conditions (Experiments 2 and 3). These studies corroborate recent findings in the field of grounded cognition revealing that concrete experiences ground abstract concepts with which they are co-experienced. Our studies show a systemic interdependence among language, perception, and social proximity: Environmentally induced conditions shape not only language use, but also the perception and construal of social relationships

Featured in Newsletter #080 Too Many Gorillas

Out of Touch? Visual Load Induces Inattentional Numbness

Sandra Murphy andPolly Dalton

Journal of Experimental Psychology:Human Perception and Performance 2016, Vol. 42, No. 6, 761–765

It is now well known that the absence of attention can leavepeople unaware of both visual and auditory stimuli (e.g., Dalton &
Fraenkel, 2012; Mack & Rock, 1998). However, the possibility of similar effects within the tactile domain has received much less research. Here, we introduce a new tactile inattention paradigm and use it to test whether tactile awareness depends on the level of perceptual load in a concurrent visual task. Participants performed a visual search task of either low or high perceptual load, as well as responding to the presence or absence of a brief vibration delivered simultaneously to either the left or the right hand (50% of trials). Detection sensitivity to the clearly noticeable tactile stimulus was reduced under high (vs. low) visual perceptual load. These findings provide the first robust
demonstration of “inattentional numbness,” as well as demonstrating that this phenomenon can be induced by concurrent visual perceptual load.

Extending the study of visual attention to a multisensoryworld (Charles W. Eriksen Special Issue)

Charles Spence

Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics (2021) 83:763–775

Charles W. Eriksen (1923–2018), long-time editor ofPerception & Psychophysics (1971–1993) – the precursor to the present
journal – undoubtedly made a profound contribution to the study of selective attention in the visual modality. Working primarily with neurologically normal adults, his early research provided both theoretical accounts for behavioral phenomena as well as robust experimental tasks, including the well-known Eriksen flanker task. The latter paradigm has been used and adapted by many
researchers over the subsequent decades. While Eriksen’s research interests were primarily focused on situations of unimodal visual spatially selective attention, here I review evidence from those studies that have attempted to extend Eriksen’s general approach to non-visual (i.e., auditory and tactile) selection and the more realistic situations of multisensory spatial attentional
selection.

Featured in #081 Everyday Ageism

Experiences of Everyday Ageism and the Health of Older US Adults

Julie Ober Allen, Erica Solway, Matthias Kirch,Dianne Singer, Jeffrey T. Kullgren,Valerie Moïse, Preeti N. Malani

JAMA Network Open. 2022;5(6):e2217240. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.17240

Major incidents of ageism have been shown to be associated with poorer health and well-being among older adults. Less is known about routine types of age-based discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping that older adults encounter in their day-to-day lives, known as everyday ageism.The objective was to examine the prevalence of everyday ageism, group differences and disparities, and associations of everyday ageism with indicators of poor physical and mental health. This cross-sectional study was conducted using survey data from the December 2019 National Poll on Healthy Aging among a nationally representative household sample of US adults aged 50 to 80 years. Everyday ageism was prevalent (93.4%), experienced at differing levels by population sociodemographic characteristic, and associated with multiple indicators of poor physical and mental health. These findings suggest that everyday ageism may warrant further attention and prioritization as a topic for additional research and as a preventable potential health hazard as people age.

The Everyday Ageism Scale: Developmentand EvaluationJulie Ober Allen, Erica Solway, Matthias Kirch, Dianne Singer, Jeffrey T. Kullgren, and Preeti N. Malani,

Journal of Aging and Health 2022, 147–157

Older adults regularly encounter age-based discrimination and stereotyping in their day-to-day lives. Whether this type of routine ageism negatively affects their health and well-being is unclear, in part due to the absence of validated scales that comprehensively measure this phenomenon and distinguish it from other sources of everyday discrimination. This study describes the development of a novel scale, the Everyday Ageism Scale, and its psychometric evaluation using a nationally representative sample of US adults age 50–80 from the December 2019 National Poll on Healthy Aging (N = 2012).Exploratory factor analysis indicated a 3-factor structure comprised of ageist messages, ageism in interpersonal interactions, and internalized ageism. The ten-item scale was psychometrically sound and demonstrated good internal reliability. Everyday ageism is a multidimensional construct. Preliminary evaluation of the Everyday Ageism Scale suggests its utility in future studies examining the prevalence of everyday ageism and its relationships with health.

Featured in Newsletter #083 "Technology is anything that was invented after you were born”

How old are you really? Cognitive age in technology acceptance

Se-Joon Hong , Carrie Siu Man Lui , Jungpil Hahn , Jae Yun Moon , Tai Gyu Kim

With increasing trends toward global aging and accompanying tendencies of (older) individuals to feel younger than they actually are, an important research question to ask is whether factors influencing IT acceptance are the same across individuals who perceive themselves to be as old as they actually are (i.e., cognitive age = chronological age) and those that perceive themselves to be younger than they actually are (i.e., cognitive age less than chronological age). We conduct an empirical analysis comparing these two groups in the context of mobile data services (MDS). Our results show that for the “young at heart,” perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment play significant roles in their IT acceptance decisions, whereas for those who perceive themselves to be as old as they actually are, perceived ease of use and subjective norms were significant. Practical implications regarding use of cognitive age as a basis for customer segmentation in IT industries as well as theoretical implications about meaningful age in human computer interaction research are offered and discussed.

Decision Support Systems (2013), 122-130

November 2022

Aging and the preference for the human touch

Wu, R.; Liu, M.; Kardes,F.

Journal of Services Marketing, (2021), 29-40

November 2022

This paper aims to investigate the effect of chronological age on the likelihood to choose a service provider with technological machines versus humans in the context of services. Design/methodology/approach – Two experimental studies were used to collect data. In both experiments, scripts were devised to depict a food ordering situation. The studies, each of which represents two between-subject conditions, were presented to a total of 312 participants. The results of studies show that as age increases, consumers show a higher visit likelihood with human servers as compared to self-ordering machines. This effect emerges because as age increases, people find it more comfortable and convenient to order from human servers. Nevertheless, when a self-ordering machine is the only option, older and younger people find it equally comfortable and convenient. This research indicates that as age increases, consumers tend to choose human servers. However, age does not impact willingness to use technology when human service is not available. A limitation of our research is that we look at food ordering contexts only. Another limitation is that most participants were between 18 and 60 years of age. Practical implications – With a better understanding of the effect of age on preference for service types and the reason behind it, this research helps implement and manage service technologies that may elicit favorable judgments and decisions from consumers. Originality/value – It demonstrates how, when and why age affects the intention to visit service providers that adopt self-service technologies. This research suggests that as age increases, consumers like human service better, but they do not resist self-service technology.

Do older adults underestimate their actual computer knowledge?

J. C. MARQUIEÂ , L. JOURDAN-BODDAERT and N. HUET

Behaviour and Information Technology (2002), 273-280

November 2022

This work examined the hypothesis that elderly people are less confident than young people in their own computer knowledge. This was done by having 49 young (M= 22.6 years) and 42 older (M=68.6 years) participants to assess their global self-efficacy beliefs and to make item-by-item prospective (feeling-of-knowing: FOK) and retrospective (confidence level: CL) judgments about their knowledge in the two domains of computers and general knowledge. The latter served as a control domain. Item diffculty was equated across age groups in each domain. In spite of this age equivalence in actual performance, differences were found in FOK and CL ratings for computers but not for general knowledge, with older people being less confident than young people in their own computer knowledge. The greater age difference in ratings observed in the computer domain, as compared with the general domain, was even greater for the FOK than for the CL judgments. Statistical control of age differences in global self-efficacy beliefs in the computer domain (poorer in the older participants, but not in the general domain), eliminated age differences in FOK and CL judgments in the same domain. These findings confirm earlier ones. They suggest that under confidence in their relevant abilities is one possible source of the difficulties that the elderly may encounter in mastering new computer technologies

Featured in Newsletter #087 Christmas Parties

The Cocktail Party Phenomenon Revisited: How Frequent Are Attention Shifts to One's Name in an Irrelevant Auditory Channel?

Noelle Wood and Nelson Cowan

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, andCognition 1995, Vol. 21, No. 1,255-260

Moray's (1959) well-known study of the "cocktail partyphenomenon" suggested that participants sometimes notice their name
embedded in an ignored auditory channel. However, the empirical finding was preliminary in nature and never has been directly replicated. This was done with improved methodological controls, and the relationship between on-line attention shifts to one's name and ubsequent recollection of the name in a sample of 34 undergraduates was examined. Similar to N. Moray, only 34.6% of the participants recalled hearing their name in the channel to be ignored. Only those participants showed on-line evidence of attention shifts, and those
shifts occurred only for the two items following the name. The results suggest that participants who detected their name monitored the irrelevant channel for a short time afterward

A Preregistered Replication and Extension of the CocktailParty Phenomenon: One’s Name Captures Attention, Unexpected Words Do Not

Jan Philipp , Nelson Cowan

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, andCognition 2021, Vol. 47, No. 2, 234 –242

In the cocktail party phenomenon, participants cannot attendto more than 1 stream of information, but sometimes detect their own name being presented in the irrelevant message during a selective listening task. Here we present a preregistered replication of the henomenon, in which we also tested whether semantically unexpected words have a similar effect and whether individual differences in working memory capacity as measured by the operation and running-span tasks are related to the ability to detect one’s own name or unexpected words in the irrelevant message. Twenty-nine percent of the participants reported noticing their own name, and those who did made more
errors on relevant, to-be-shadowed words presented around the time of the name. Low-span participants were more likely than high-span participants to notice their names and to commit shadowing errors concurrently to the presentation of the name or shortly after. In contrast, semantically unexpected words were rarely detected, nor were they associated with shadowing errors in the relevant
message. Our results demonstrate once again that highly relevant stimuli such as one’s own name are capable of attracting and capturing attention for a short period of time. Our results also demonstrate that unexpected words within sentences do not belong to this category of stimuli.

Older Adults at the Cocktail Party

M. KathleenPichora-Fuller, Claude Alain, and Bruce A. Schneider

Chapter 9 J.C.Middlebrooks et al. (eds.), The Auditory System at the Cocktail Party, Springer
Handbook of Auditory Research

Successful communication and navigation in cocktail partysituations depends on complex interactions among an individual’s sensory,
cognitive, and social abilities. Older adults may function well in relatively ideal communication situations, but they are notorious for their difficulties understanding speech in noisy situations such as cocktail parties. However, as healthy adults age, declines in auditory and cognitive processing may be offset by compensatory gains in ability to use context and knowledge. From a practical perspective, it is important to consider the aging auditory system in multi-talker situations because these are among the most challenging situations for older adults. From a theoretical perspective, studying age-related changes in auditory processing provides a special window into the relative contributions of, and interactions among sensory, cognitive, and social abilities. In the acoustical wild, younger listeners typically function better than older listeners. Experimental evidence indicates that age-related differences in simple measures such as word recognition in quiet or noise are largely due to the bottom-up effects of age-related auditory declines. These differences can
often be eliminated when auditory input is adjusted to equate the performance levels of listeners on baseline measures in quiet or noise. Notably, older adults exhibit enhanced cognitive compensation, with performance on auditory tasks being facilitated by top-down use of context and knowledge. Nevertheless, age-related differences can persist when tasks are more cognitively demanding and involve discourse comprehension, memory, and attention. At an extreme, older adults with hearing loss are at greater risk for developing cognitive
impairments than peers with better hearing.

Featured in Newsletter #090 Happy Christmas

On the Promotion of Human Flourishing

Tyler J. VanderWeele

148–8156 | PNAS | August 1, 2017 | vol. 114 | no. 31

Many empirical studies throughout the social and biomedicalsciences focus only on very narrow outcomes such as income, or a single
specific disease state, or a measure of positive affect. Human well-being or flourishing, however, consists in a much broader range of states and outcomes, certainly including mental and physical health, but also encompassing happiness and life satisfaction, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships. The empirical literature from longitudinal, experimental, and quasi experimental studies is reviewed in attempt to identify major determinants of human flourishing, broadly conceived. Measures of human
flourishing are proposed. Discussion is given to the implications of a broader conception of human flourishing, and of the research reviewed, for policy, for future research in the biomedical andsocial sciences

Ways to Greater Happiness: A Delphi Study

Dan Buettner Toben Nelson Ruut Veenhoven

Journal of Happiness Studies (2020) 21:2789–2806

In the first round of this Delphi study 14 experts suggestedstrategies for improving life-satisfaction. In a second round, experts rated
these strategies for (a) effectiveness, (b) feasibility and (c) cost-effectiveness. They considered 56 strategies policy makers can use to raise average happiness in a nation and 68 ways in which individuals can raise their own happiness. Experts were informed about the average ratings made by the panel and about the arguments advanced. Then, in a third round, experts made their final judgments. Summed ratings for average effectiveness and feasibility of the strategies ranged between 8.4 and 4.9 on scale 2–10, which means that most of the
recommendations were deemed suitable. Agreement was slightly higher on policy strategies than on individual ways to greater happiness. Policy strategies deemed the most effective and feasible are: (1) investing in happiness research, (2) support of vulnerable people and (3) improving the social climate, in particular by promoting voluntary work and supporting non-profits. Individual strategies deemed most effective are: (a) investing in social networks, (b) doing meaningful things

February 2023

Featured in #092 Overcoming Ageism at All Ages

The Social Separation of Old and Young: A Root of Ageism

G. O. Hagestad∗ and P Uhlenberg

Journal of Social Issues, 2005, pp. 343--360

Ageism has been the focus of numerous publications, whileage segregation is a neglected topic. Ageism on a micro-individual level is
linked to segregation on a macro level in a segregation-ageism cycle. Possible linking mechanisms, which might help break this cycle, can be found on a meso level of social networks—their structure and functions. Data from the United States and the Netherlands show that non-family networks are strongly age homogeneous. Based on earlier work by a range of scholars, we suggest that
time, group identity, perspective-taking, and affective ties are factors that must be considered with regard to the functions of networks. Addressing meso level mechanisms poses challenges to social policy

“Financial Issues Top the List of Reasons U.S. Adults Live in Multigenerational Homes”

Pew Research Center, March 2022

Nearly four-in-ten young men ages 25 to 29 now live with older relatives. Multigenerational living has grown sharply in the U.S. overthe past five decades and shows no sign of peaking. When asked why they share their home with relatives, Americans often give practical reasons related to finances or family caregiving. But the experience also has an emotional component. About a quarter of adults in multigenerational homes say it is stressful all or most of the time, and more than twice that share say it is mostly or always

Ageism in the era of digital platforms

Andrea Rosales , Mireia Fernandez-Ardevol

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into NewMedia Technologies 2020, 1074–1087

Ageism is the most invisible form of discrimination.While there is some awareness of gender, racial, and socioeconomic
discrimination on digital platforms, ageism has received less attention. This article analyzes some tools that are frequently embedded on digital platforms from an old-age perspective, in order to increase awareness of the different ways in which ageism works. We will firstly look at how innovation teams, following homophilic patterns, disregard older people. Secondly, we will show how ageism tends to be amplified by the methods often used on digital platforms. And thirdly, we will show how corporate values contradict the usability issues that mainly affect people with a low level of (digital) skills, which is more common among older people. Counterbalancing the abusive
power control of the corporations behind digital platforms and compensating for the underrepresentation of groups in less favorable situations could help to tackle

January 2023

Featured in Newsletter #094 Distracted Eating

The Impact of Crowding on Calorie Consumption

STEFAN J. HOCK,RAJESH BAGCHI

Journal of Consumer Research, 2018, 1123-1140

Consumer behavior is often influenced by subtleenvironmental cues, such as temperature, color, lighting, scent, or sound. We explore the effects of a not-so[1]subtle cue—humancrowding—on calorie consumption. Although crowding is an omnipresent factor, it has received little attention in the marketing literature. We present six studies showing that crowding increases calorie consumption. These effects occur because crowding increases distraction, which hampers cognitive thinking and evokes more affective processing. When consumers process information affectively, they consume more calories. We show the specific reason for the increase in calories. When given a choice between several different options, people select and eat higher-calorie items, but when presented with only one option, people eat more of the same food item. We document this process, rule out alternative explanations, and discuss theoretical and managerial implications

Watching television while eating increases energy intake.Examining the mechanisms in female participants

Lucy Braude, RichardJ. Stevenson

Appetite (2014), 9-16

Watching television (TV) while eating tends to increase foodintake, but why this occurs is not well understood. Here, we examined TV’s
effects on sensory specific satiety (SSS), introception (i.e., hunger/ fullness), mood and other variables, in females who all ate one snack meal with TV and another without TV. To manipulate the development of SSS, participants were assigned either to a group receiving a single type of snack food or one receiving four types. Everyone ate more with TV. More food items were eaten in the group offered multiple snack types. In the group eating a single snack type with TV, hedonic ratings indicated that SSS did not develop and this was associated with greater food intake. Irrespective of group, more food had to be consumed to generate the same shift in hunger/fullness when eating with TV, relative to no TV. TV exerted less effect on food intake both if it improved mood and if participants were unfamiliar with the TV show, and a greater effect if participants were frequent TV viewers. We suggest that TV can affect several processes that normally assist the voluntary regulation of food intake

Featured in Newsletter #095 Loneliness

The Rise of Japan’s Super Solo Culture.

Bryan Lufkin

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200113-the-rise-of-japans-super-solo-culture

From cocktails to karaoke, more Japanese people are going it alone. What's causing the huge change in the traditionally group-oriented country?

Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors forMortality: A Meta-Analytic Review

Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Timothy B. Smith, Mark Baker, TylerHarris, and David Stephenson

Perspectives on Psychological Science 2015,Vol. 10(2) 227-237

Actual and perceived social isolation are both associatedwith increased risk for early mortality. In this meta-analytic review, our
objective is to establish the overall and relative magnitude of social isolation and loneliness and to examine possible moderators. We conducted a literature search of studies (January 1980 to February 2014) using MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Social Work Abstracts, and Google Scholar. The included studies provided quantitative data on mortality as affected by loneliness, social isolation, or living alone. Across studies in which several possible confounds were statistically controlled for, the weighted average effect sizes were as follows: social isolation odds ratio (OR) = 1.29, loneliness OR = 1.26, and living alone OR = 1.32, corresponding to an average of 29%, 26%, and 32%
increased likelihood of mortality, respectively. We found no differences between measures of objective and subjective social isolation. Results remain consistent across gender, length of follow-up, and world region, but initial health status has an influence on the findings. Results also differ across participant age, with social deficits being more predictive of death in samples with an average age younger than 65 years. Overall, the influence of both objective and subjective social isolation on risk for mortality is comparable with well-established risk factors for mortality.

The Major Health Implications of Social Connection

Julianne Holt-Lunstad

Current Directions in Psychological Science 2021, Vol. 30(3)251–259

The influence of social relationships extends beyondemotional well-being to influence long-term physical-health outcomes, including
mortality risk. Despite the varied measurement approaches used to examine social relationships within the health literature, the data can be synthesized using social connection as an organizing framework. This review discusses cumulative scientific evidence of links between various aspects of social connection and mortality, as well as supporting evidence for links with morbidity and plausible mechanisms. This evidence fulfills the criteria outlined in the Bradford Hill guidelines for establishing causality. Despite strong evidence currently available, several gaps remain and will need to be addressed if society is to rise to the challenge of developing effective interventions to reduce risk associated with social disconnection. This evidence has important broader implications for medical practice and public health.

Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults:Opportunities for the Health Care System (2020)

National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine

National Academies Press 2020

Featured in Newsletter #096 Will the Old Inherit the Metaverse?

Review of Cybersickness in applications and visual displays

Rebenitsch, L; Owen, C.

Virtual reality, 2016. 101-125

Cybersickness is an affliction common to users ofvirtual environments. Similar in symptoms to motion sickness, cybersickness can
result in nausea, headaches, and dizziness. With these systems becoming readily available to the general public, reports of cybersickness have increased and there is a growing concern about the safety of these systems. This review presents the current state of research methods, theories, and known aspects associated with cybersickness. Current measurements of incidence of
cybersickness are questionnaires, postural sway, and physiological state.

Varying effects due to displayand rendering modes, such as visual display type and stereoscopic or mesoscopic rendering, are compared. The known and suspected application aspects that induce cybersickness are discussed. There are numerous potential contributing application design aspects, many of which have had limited study, but field of view and navigation are strongly correlated with cybersickness. The effect of visual displays is not well understood, and application design may be of greater importance.

Factors Associated With Virtual Reality Sickness in Head-Mounted Displays: A Systematic Review and
Meta-Analysis

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2020

Dimitrios Saredakis , Ancret Szpak, Brandon Birckhead, Hannah A. D. Keage, Albert Rizzo and Tobias Loetscher

The use of head-mounted displays (HMD) for virtualreality (VR) application-based purposes including therapy, rehabilitation, and
training is increasing. Despite advancements in VR technologies, many users still experience sickness symptoms. VR sickness may be influenced by technological differences within HMDs such as resolution and refresh rate, however, VR content also plays a significant role. The primary objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the literature on HMDs that report Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) scores to determine the impact of content. User factors associated with VR sickness were also examined.
A systematic search was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Fifty-five articles met inclusion criteria, representing 3,016 participants (mean age range 19.5–80; 41% female). Findings show gaming content recorded the highest total SSQ mean 34.26 (95%CI 29.57–38.95). VR sickness profiles were also influenced by visual stimulation, locomotion and exposure times. Older samples
(mean age ≥35 years) scored significantly lower total SSQ means than younger samples, however, these findings are based on a small evidence base as a limited number of studies included older users. No sex differences were found. Across all types of content, the pooled total SSQ mean was relatively high 28.00 (95%CI 24.66–31.35) compared with recommended SSQ cut-off scores. These
findings are of relevance for informing future research and the application of VR in different contexts

Ageism in the era of digital platforms

Andrea Rosales, Mireia Fernandez-Ard

Convergence, 2020, 1074-1087

Ageism is the most invisible form of discrimination.While there is some awareness of gender, racial, and socioeconomic
discrimination on digital platforms, ageism has received less attention. This article analyzes some tools that are frequently embedded on digital platforms from an old-age perspective, in order to increase awareness of the different ways in which ageism works. We will firstly look at how innovation teams, following homophilic patterns, disregard older people. Secondly, we will show how ageism tends to be amplified by the methods often used on digital platforms. And thirdly, we will show how corporate values contradict the usability issues that mainly affect people with a low level of (digital) skills, which is more common among older people. Counterbalancing the abusive
power control of the corporations behind digital platforms and compensating for the underrepresentation of groups in less favorable situations could help to tackle such discrimination.

Featured in Newsletter #097 "Elderspeak"

Understanding Elderspeak: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis

Clarissa A. Shaw, Jean K. Gordon

Innovation in Ageing, 2021, 5/3. pp1-18

Elderspeak is an inappropriate simplified speech registerthat sounds like baby talk and is used with older adults, especially in health
care settings. Understanding the concept of elderspeak is challenging due to varying views about which communicative components constitute elderspeak and whether elderspeak is beneficial or harmful for older adults.

Rodgers’ evolutionary concept analysis method was used toevaluate the concept of elderspeak through identification of elderspeak’s
attributes, antecedents, and consequences. A systematic search of databases was completed. Elderspeak characteristics were categorized by semantic, syntactic, pragmatic, paralinguistic, and nonverbal attributes. The primary antecedent to elderspeak is implicit ageism, in which old age cues and signs of functional or cognitive impairment led to simplified communication, usually from a younger caregiver. Research studies varied in reporting whether elderspeak facilitated or interfered with comprehension by older adults, in part depending on the operational definition of elderspeak and experimental manipulations. Exaggerated prosody, a key feature of elderspeak, was found to reduce comprehension. Elderspeak was generally perceived as patronizing by older adults and speakers were perceived as less respectful. In persons with dementia, elderspeak also increases the probability of resistiveness to care, which is an important correlate of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.

Don’t Patronize Me: Responses to patronizing communication and factorsthat attenuate those responses

Hehman, J. A., Bugental, D. B. (2015).

Psychology and Aging, 30(3), 552–560.

The purpose of this study was to investigateyounger and older adults’ responses to patronizing communication in terms of
(a) performance on a cognitive task and (b) physiological responses , as well as factors that may attenuate those responses. Participants were randomly assigned to receive instructions for the task using either a patronizing or nonpatronizing speech style. Participants
also completed a measure of attitudes about aging and the quantity/quality of their intergenerational interaction.

Older adults (relative to younger adults) were found to be more reactive to the patronizing speech style in terms of their
performance on the task as well as the change in their cortisol levels. Older adults who had more positive attitudes about aging as well as more positive intergenerational interactions were protected from the performance deficits as
a result of patronizing speech style.

Featured in Newsletter #098 "The Friend Within"

Subliminal Strengthening: Improving Older Individuals Physical Function Over Time with Implicit Aging Stereotype Interventions

Becca Levy, Corey Pilver, Pil Chung, Martin Slade

Psychological Science, 2014, 25/12, pp 2127-2155

Negative age stereotypes that older individuals assimilatefrom their culture predict detrimental outcomes, including worse physical
function. We examined, for the first time, whether positive age stereotypes, presented subliminally across multiple sessions in the community, would lead to improved outcomes. Each of 100 older individuals was randomly assigned to an implicit-positive-age-stereotype-intervention group, an explicit-positive age-stereotype-intervention group, a combined implicit- and explicit-positive-age-stereotype-intervention group, or a control group. Interventions occurred at four 1-week intervals. The implicit intervention strengthened positive age stereotypes, which strengthened positive self-perceptions of aging, which, in turn, improved physical function. The
improvement in these outcomes continued for 3 weeks after the last intervention session. Further, negative age stereotypes and negative self-perceptions of aging were weakened. For all outcomes, the implicit intervention's impact was greater than the explicit intervention's impact. The physical-function effect of the implicit intervention surpassed a previous study's 6-month-exercise-intervention's effect with participants of similar ages. The current study's findings demonstrate the potential of directing implicit processes toward physical-function enhance.

Do Negative Views of Aging Influence Memory and Auditory Performance Through Self-Perceived Abilities?

Alison L. Chasteen, M. Kathleen Pichora-Fuller, SherriSmith, James H. Quillen Gurjit Singh.

Psychology and Ageing, 2015, 30/4 881-893

Memory and hearing are critical domains that interact duringolder adults’ daily communication and social encounters. To develop a more
comprehensive picture of how aging influences performance in these domains, the roles of social variables such as views of aging and self-perceived abilities need greater examination. The present study investigates the linkages between views of aging, self-perceived abilities, and performance within and across the domains of memory and hearing, connections that have never been examined together within the same sample of older adults.

For both domains, older adults completed measures of theirviews of aging, their self-perceived abilities and behavioural tests. Using
structural equation modelling, we tested a hypothesized model in which older adults’ negative views of aging predicted their performance in the domains of memory and hearing through negatively affecting their self-perceived abilities in those domains. Although this model achieved adequate fit, an alternative model in which hearing performance predicted self-perceived hearing also was supported. Both models indicate that hearing influences memory with respect to both behavioural and self-perception measures and that negative views of aging influence self-perceptions in both domains.

Featured in Newsletter #99 Age and Ageism

Old Age-related Stereotypes of PreSchool Children

Flamion et al

Frontiers in Psychology 2020 Article 807

Ageist attitudes have been discovered in children as earlyas 3 years. However, so far very few studies, especially during the last decade, have examined age-related stereotypes in preschool children. Available questionnaires adapted to this population are scarce. Our study was designed to probe old age-related views in 3- to 6-year-old children (n = 126) using both an open-ended Image-of-Aging question and a new pilot tool, called Young Children’s Views of Older People (YCVOP), based on a visual analog scale illustrated by cartoons. Parental views of older people were also collected.
The YCVOP was easy to use and internally consistent. Both that scale and the Image-of Aging question showed globally favorable views of older people in preschool children, especially regarding warmth and smartness traits. However,
assessment of physical capacity and independence tended to be negative. The overall results were in line with the low-competence, high-warmth stereotype of older people that is common in young adults and school-age children and was
found in parents in the current study (Stereotype Content Model). Strikingly, children’s views did not correlate with those of their parents’: The children’s responses appeared more personal and emotional, while the parents tended to
adopt global stereotypes. The preschoolers’ views of older people were much more positive in those who spontaneously evoked their grandparents when asked to think of an old person. In conclusion, this study, introducing a new visual
tool to assess age-related stereotypes, suggests ambivalent views of older adults start in preschool children and are influenced by grandparents relationships.

Impact of Contact With Grandparents on Children’s andAdolescents’ Views on the Elderly

Allison Flamion ,Pierre Missotten, ManonMarquet, and Stephane Adam

Child Development, July/August 2019, Volume 90, Number 4,Pages 1155–1169

Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination against theelderly (ageism) may manifest themselves in children at an early age. However, the factors influencing this phenomenon are not well known. Using both explicit and open-ended questions, this study analyzed the influence of personal and familial parameters on the views of 1,151 seven- to sixteen-year-old Belgian children and adolescents on the elderly. Four factors were found to affect these views: gender (girls had slightly more positive views than boys), age (ageism was lowest in 10- to 12-year-old, reminiscent of other forms of stereotypes and cognitive developmental theories), grandparents’ health, and most importantly, quality of contact with grandparents (very good and good contacts correlated with more favorable feelings toward the elderly, especially in children

Youthful Ideals of Older Adults: An Analysis of Children’s Drawings

Tom Robinson, JessicaZurcher, Clark Callahan

Educational Gerontology, 41: 440–450, 2015

Over the years, disparities have continued to emerge aboutwhat factors influence children’s views of older adults. The purpose of this study was to gain further understanding regarding youthful ideals of aging through an analysis of children’s drawings. After completing their drawings, the children were interviewed to provide a better understanding and to give clarity of the drawn images. The sample included 141 children ages 8–12 from different Boys and Girls Clubs of America across the United States. Overall, the children produced a generally positive image (84.8%) with most drawing a family member who was happy, healthy, active, and with positive physical characteristics. Significant differences were found between the genders as the girls drew more positive images than the boys; however, no significant differences existed between children from different races and ages.

Different dimensions of ageist attitudes among men and women:a multigenerational perspective

Ehud Bodner, Yoav S. Bergman and Sara Cohen-Fridel

International Psychogeriatrics (2012), 24:6, 895–901

Ageism, a form of prejudice in which one relates negativelyto people due to their age, exists throughout life. However, no attempt has been made to compare ageist attitudes across the life cycle, from young dulthood to old age. Consequently, the current study examined age and gender differences in ageism throughout adulthood.

955 Israeli participants (age range: 18–98 years) weredivided into three age-groups: young (18–39), middle-aged (40–67), and old (68–98), and were administered the Fraboni Scale of Ageism. Age and gender
differences were examined both for the three groups and for subgroups within the older adult cohort.

Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that middle-agedparticipants were significantly more ageist than younger and older groups. Across all age groups, men exhibited more avoidance and stereotypical attitudes toward older adults than women. Among the old age group, participants aged 81–98 held more ageist stereotypes and reported more avoidance of older adults than those aged 68–73. Within the older adult cohort, gender was a significant predictor for ageist attitudes among those aged 68–73 and 81–98, but not for people aged 74–80.

Ageism demonstrates a changing pattern across the life span.While gender differences remain stable, ageist attitudes toward growing old as we age ourselves are constantly changing. In order to gain a better understanding of ageism as a general and global phenomenon, we need to consider the role of such attitudes in different stages of life.

Featured in Newsletter #100 "Its Not Fair"

GENERATIONAL WEALTH ACCOUNTS: DID PUBLIC AND PRIVATEINTER-GENERATIONAL TRANSFERS OFFSET EACH OTHER OVER THE FINANCIAL CRISIS?

David McCarthy, JamesSefton, Ronald Lee and Joze Sambt

The Economic Journal, 2022 132.2412-2437

We develop Generational Wealth Accounts (GWA): the first setof balance sheets, by generations, to include all human capital, tangible wealth, financial wealth, and transfer wealth, and the uses to which these are put, and employ them to quantify inter-generational transfers and the sustainability of consumption. Consumption plans in the UK public sector worsened over the financial crisis and are unsustainable; private sector plans improved, and are now almost balanced. Increases in private capital transfers to the young offset the effect of increased public debt. House price increases shifted resources from young to old but had little effect on sustainability. It has often been argued that younger enerations will carry an outsize share of the cost of sustainability

Featured in Newsletter #101 Does Ageism Really Exist?

Attitudes Toward Older and Younger Adults: A Meta-Analysis

Mary E. Kite and Blair T. Johnson
Psychology and Ageing, 1988, Vol3, 233-244
Attitudes toward the elderly have been examined in a number of empirical studies, yet the question
of whether the elderly are viewed more negatively than younger persons has not been resolved. A
meta-analysis of the literature was conducted to examine this question; results demonstrated that
attitudes toward the elderly are more negative than attitudes toward younger people. However,
smaller differences between the evaluations of elderly and younger targets were found when (a) the
study used measures of personality traits (compared with measures of competence), (b) there were
a larger number of dependent measures included in the effect size, (c) specific information was pro
vided about the target person (compared with when a general target such as old person was used),
and (d) a between-subjects design (compared with a within-subjects design) was used. These results
support Lutsky's (1981) conclusion that age, in and of itself, seems to be less important in determin
ing attitudes toward the elderly than other types of information. The methodological limitations
within the literature and a need to consider multiple components of attitudes toward older individu
als are discussed.

Featured in Newsletter #102 "When are We Old?"

A standard procedure for creating a frailty index

Samuel D Searle, Arnold Mitnitski, Evelyne A Gahbauer,Thomas M Gill and Kenneth Rockwood

BMC Geriatrics 2008 8:24

Frailty can be measured in relation to the accumulation ofdeficits using a frailty index. A frailty index can be developed from most ageing databases. Our objective is to systematically describe a standard procedure for constructing a frailty index.This is a secondary analysis of the Yale Precipitating Events Project cohort study, based in New Haven CT.
Non-disabled people aged 70 years or older (n = 754) were enrolled and recontacted every 18 months. The database includes variables on function, cognition, co-morbidity, health attitudes and practices and physical performance measures. Data came from the baseline cohort and those available at the first 18-month follow-up assessment.

Procedures for selecting health variables as candidatedeficits were applied to yield 40 deficits. Recoding procedures were applied for categorical, ordinal and interval variables such that they could be mapped to the interval 0–1, where 0 = absence of a deficit, and 1= full expression of the deficit. These individual deficit scores were combined in an index, where 0= no deficit present, and 1= all 40 deficits present. The values of the index were well fit by a gamma distribution. Between the baseline and follow-up cohorts, the age-related slope of deficit accumulation increased from 0.020
(95% confidence interval, 0.014–0.026) to 0.026 (0.020–0.032). The 99% limit to deficit accumulation was 0.6 in the baseline cohort and 0.7 in the follow-up cohort. Multivariate Cox analysis showed the frailty index, age and sex to be
significant predictors of mortality.

A systematic process for creating a frailty index, whichrelates deficit accumulation to the individual risk of death, showed
reproducible properties in the Yale Precipitating Events Project cohort study. This method of quantifying frailty.

Aging in the USA: similarities and disparities across time and space

Ana Lucia Abeliansky, Devinrel & HolgerStrulik

Nature: Scientific Report 2020 10: 14309

We study biological aging of elderly U.S. Americans born 1904–1966. We use thirteen waves of the Health and
Retirement Study and construct a frailty index as the number of health deficits present in a person measured relative to the number of potential deficits. We find that, on average, Americans develop 5% more health deficits per year, that men
age slightly faster than women, and that, at any age above 50, Caucasians display significantly fewer health deficits than African Americans. We also document a steady time trend of health improvements. or each year of later
birth, health deficits decline on average by about 1%. This health trend is about the same across regions and for men and women, but signifcantly lower for African Americans compared to Caucasians. In nonlinear regressions, we fnd that
regional diferences in aging follow a particular regularity, akin to the compensation efect of mortality. Health defcits converge for men and women and across American regions and suggest a life span of the American population of
about 97 years.

Frailty in Relation to the Accumulation of Deficits

Kenneth Rockwood and Arnold Mitnitski

Journal of Gerontology 2007, Vol. 62A, No. 7, 722–727

This review article summarizes how frailty can be consideredin relation to deficit accumulation. Recalling that frailty is an
age-associated, nonspecific vulnerability, we consider symptoms, signs, diseases, and disabilities as deficits, which are combined in a frailty index.An individual's frailty index score reflects the proportion of potential deficits present in that person, and indicates the likelihood that frailty is present. Although based on a simple count, the frailty index shows several interesting properties, including a characteristic rate of accumulation, a submaximal
limit, and characteristic changes with age in its distribution. The frailty index, as a state variable, is able to quantitatively summarize vulnerability. Future studies include the application of network analyses and stochastic
analytical techniques to the evaluation of the frailty index and the description of other state variables in relation to frailty.

INSIGHTS INTO THE AGEING MIND: A VIEW FROM COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE

Trey Hedden and John D. E. Gabrieli

Nature Reviews: Neuroscience VOLUME 5 | FEBRUARY 2004 | 8 7

As we grow older, we may grow wiser, but we can alsoexperience memory loss and cognitive slowing that can interfere with our daily routines. The cognitive neuroscience of human ageing, which relies largely on neuroimaging techniques, relates these cognitive changes to their neural substrates, including structural and functional changes in the prefrontal
cortex, medial temporal lobe regions and white matter tracts. Much remains unknown about how normal ageing affects the neural basis of cognition, but recent research on individual differences in the trajectory of ageing effects is helping to distinguish normal from pathological origins of age related cognitive changes

Featured in Newsletter #103 "Superagers"

Youthful Brains in Older Adults: Preserved Neuroanatomy inthe Default Mode and Salience Networks Contributes to Youthful Memory in Superaging

Felicia W. Sun,Michael R. Stepanovic, Joseph Andreano, Lisa Feldman Barrett,Alexandra
Touroutoglou, and Bradford C. Dickerson

The Journal of Neuroscience, September 14, 2016 • 36(37):9659 –9668

Decline in cognitive skills, especially in memory, is oftenviewed as part of “normal” aging. Yet some individuals “age better” than others. Building on prior research showing that cortical thickness in one brain region, the anterior midcingulate cortex, is preserved in older adults with memory performance abilities equal to or better than those of people 20 –30 years younger (i.e., “superagers”), we examined the structural integrity of two large-scale intrinsic brain networks in superaging: the default mode network, typically engaged during memory encoding and retrieval tasks, and the salience network, typically engaged during attention, motivation, and executive function tasks. We predicted that superagers would have preserved cortical thickness in critical nodes in these networks. We defined superagers (60 – 80 years old) based on their performance compared to young adults (18 –32 years old) on the California Verbal Learning Test Long Delay Free Recall test. We found regions within the networks of interest where the cerebral cortex of superagers was thicker than that of typical older adults, and where superagers were anatomically indistinguishable from young adults; hippocampal volume was also preserved in superagers. Within the full group of older adults, thickness of a number of regions, including the anterior temporal cortex, rostral medial prefrontal cortex, and anterior midcingulate cortex, correlated with memory performance, as did the volume of the hippocampus. These results indicate older adults with youthful memory abilities have youthful brain regions in key paralimbic and limbic nodes ofthe default mode and salience networks that support attentional, executive, and mnemonic processes subserving memory function.

The Long-Term Efficacy of Working Memory Training in HealthyOlder Adults: A Systematic Review and MetaAnalysis of 22 Randomized Controlled Trials

Jianhua Hou, MS,Taiyi Jiang, MD, Jiangning Fu,Bin Su, PhD, Hao Wu, MD, Runsong Sun, BS,and Tong
Zhang, MD.

Journals of Gerontology: PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 2020, Vol.75, No. 8

The long-lasting efficacy of working memory (WM) traininghas been a controversial and still ardently debated issue. In this meta-analysis, the authors explored the long-term effects of WM training in healthy older adults on WM subdomains and abilities outside the WM domain assessed in randomized controlled studies.

A systematic literature search was conducted. Random-effectsmodels were used to quantitatively synthesize the existing data. Twenty-two eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis. The mean participant age ranged from 63.77 to 80.1 years. The results showed that WM training exerted robust long-term effects on enhancing the WM system and improving processing speed and reasoning in late adulthood. Future studies are needed to use different tasks of the same WM construct to evaluate the WM training benefits, to adopt more ecological tasks or tasks related to daily life, to improve the external validity of WM training, and to identify the optimal implementation strategy for WM training.

Reviewing working memory training gains in healthy olderadults: A meta-analytic review of transfer for cognitive outcomes

Ana C. Teixeira-Santosa, , Célia S. Moreirab, Rosana Magalhãesd, Carina Magalhães Diana R.Pereiraa , Jorge Leitea, Sandra Carvalhoa,Adriana Sampaio

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 103 (2019) 163–1

The objective of this meta-analytic review was tosystematically assess the effects of working memory training on healthy older adults. We identified 552 entries, of which 27 experiments met our inclusion criteria. The final database included 1130 participants. Near- and far-transfer effects were analysed with measures of short-term memory, working memory, and reasoning. Small significant and long-lasting transfer gains were observed in working memory tasks. Effects on reasoning was very small and only marginally significant. The effects of working memory training on both near and far transfer in older adults were moderated by the type of training tasks; the adopted outcome measures; the training duration; and the total number of training hours. In this review, we provide an updated review of the literature in the field by carrying out a robust multi-level metaanalysis focused exclusively on working memory training in healthy older adults.

Non-exercise estimation of VO2max using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire

Susan M. Schembre, Deborah Riebe

Meas Phys Educ Exerc Sci. 2011

Non-exercise equations developed from self-reported physicalactivity can estimate maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) as well as submaximal exercise testing. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) is the most widely used and validated self-report measure of physical activity. This study aimed to develop and test a VO2max estimation equation derived from the IPAQ-Short Form (IPAQ-S). College-aged males and females (n = 80) completed the IPAQ-S and performed a maximal exercise test. The estimation equation was created with multivariate regression in a gender-balanced subsample of participants, equally representing five levels of fitness (n = 50) and validated in the remaining participants (n = 30). The resulting equation explained 43% of the variance in measured VO2max (SEE = 5.45 ml·kg-1·min-1). Estimated VO2max for 87% of individuals fell within acceptable limits of error observed with submaximal exercise testing (20% error). The IPAQ-S can be used to successfully estimate VO2max as well as submaximal exercise tests. Development of other population-specific estimation equations is warranted.

Longitudinal Neuropsychological Performance of CognitiveSuperAgers

Tamar Gefen, Emily Shaw, Kristen Whitney, Adam Martersteck,John Stratton, Alfred Rademaker, SandraWeintraub, Marsel Mesulam, and EmilyRogalski.

J Am Geriatr Soc. 2014 August ; 62(8): 1598–1600

While several studies of successful aging exist8 , none haveprospectively followed elderly individuals defined on the basis of the stringent criterion that we applied to SuperAgers, namely an episodic memory performance at a level that would be deemed “normal” for individuals 20–30 years younger. Two possibilities need to be considered. One is that SuperAgers were at a much higher level of performance when 50–60 years old and that the current scores are compatible with customary age-related declines. The second, and more interesting possibility, is that SuperAgers are resistant to age-related cognitive decline. Our findings provide initial support for the second possibility, suggesting that SuperAgers may represent a different and unusually benign trajectory of cognitive aging. Confirmation of this
possibility will be based on showing stability over longer periods of time, and especially on the demonstration that rate of change in cognition is slower than what is seen in cognitively average individuals of the same age.

Women Who Maintain Optimal Cognitive Function into Old Age

Deborah E. Barnes, Jane A. Cauley, Li-Yung Lui, Howard A.Fink, Charles McCulloch, Katie L. Stone, and Kristine Yaffe

J Am Geriatr Soc 55:259–264, 2007.

To determine whether older women who maintain optimalcognitive function into old age differ from those who experience minor cognitive decline typically associated with normal aging. Prospective cohort study. The Study ofOsteoporotic Fractures. Nine thousand seven hundred four older women. A modified Mini-Mental State examination(mMMSE) was performed at baseline and Years 6, 8, 10, and 15. Random-effects regression was used to classify subjects as cognitive maintainers (slope 0), minor decliners (slope o 0 but 4 lowest tertile), or major decliners (slope lowest tertile). Stepwise logistic regression was used to identify factors most predictive of being a cognitive maintainer versus a minor decliner (excluding major decliners). Women had a mean ageof 72 at baseline and 85 at follow-up. Nine percent maintained optimal cognitive function, 58% experienced minor decline, and 33% experienced major decline.

Most factors differed progressively over the three cognitivegroups. After adjustment for key confounders, odds ratios for factors most predictive of being a cognitive maintainer as opposed to minor decliner were 1.9 (95% confidence interval (CI) 5 1.2–2.9) for lack of diabetes mellitus, 1.2 (95% CI 5 1.0–1.4) for lack of hypertension, 1.7 (95% CI 5 1.3–2.3) for lack of smoking, 1.2 (95% CI 5 1.1–1.5) for moderate alcohol consumption, 1.4 (95% CI 5 1.1–1.7) for lack of difficulty with instrumental activities of daily living, and 1.2 (95% CI 5 1.0–1.4) for lack of low social network.

CONCLUSION: Almost 10% of older women maintained optimalcognitive function into old age. Cognitive maintainers were less likely to have comorbid medical conditions, less likely to have difficulty with daily activities or poor social networks, and more likely to engage in healthy behaviors than minor cognitive decliners

Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Factors Contributing to theLongitudinal Identification of Successful Older Adults in the Betula Study

Reza Habib , LarsNyberg & Lars-Göran Nilsson

Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 14:3

Studies of successful aging have typically defined elderly who fall in the upper end of a distribution of test scores as successful. A
different definition of successful aging requires that older adults fall at or above the mean level of younger adults and maintain this level over time. Here we examined this definition of successful aging in a sample of 1463 individuals between the ages of 50 of 85. Based on principal coordinate analysis of cognitive and non-cognitive variables, we identified a group of 55 (8.3%) 70–85 years olds that were high functioning. This group of elderly showed elevated performance on a range of cognitive tasks. Non-cognitive factors that characterized this group included education and subjective health. The participants were retested 5 years later and the same type of analysis was repeated. Of the remaining individuals who initially were classified as high functioning, 18 (35%) remained high functioning and thus met the definition for successful aging. Years of education was a significant predictor of who remained successful over time.

Featured In Newsletter ‘104 “What Happens to All Those Satisfaction Surveys?”

The Customer May Not Always be Right: Customer Compatibility and Service Performance

Buell, R.W.; Campbell,D., Frei,F.X.

Management Science, 67(3)2021 1468-1488

This paper investigates theimpact of customer compatibility – the degree of fit between the needs of customers and the capabilities of the operations serving them – on customer experiences and firm performance. We use a variance decomposition analysis to quantify the relative importance of customer, employee, process, location, and market-level effects on customer satisfaction. In our models, which explain roughly a quarter of the aggregate variance, differences among customers account for 96-97% of the explainable portion. Further analysis of interaction-level data from banking and quick service restaurants reveals that customers report relatively consistent satisfaction across transactions with particular firms, but that some customers are habitually more satisfied than others. A second set of empirical studies provides evidence that these customer-level differences are explained in part by customer compatibility. Customers whose needs, proxied by differences in demographics and product choices, diverge more starkly from those of their bank’s average customers report significantly lower levels of satisfaction. Consistently, banks that serve customer bases with more dispersed needs receive lower satisfaction scores than banks serving customer bases with less dispersed needs. Finally, a longitudinal analysis of the deposit and loan growth of all federally insured banks in the United States from 2006-2017 reveals that customer compatibility affects a firm’s financial performance. Branches with more divergent customers grow more slowly than branches with less divergent customers. Institutions serving customer bases with more dispersed needs have branches that exhibit slower growth than those of institutions serving customer bases with less dispersed needs.

Feature in Newsletter #106 “The Genome and the Exposome

Use of the “Exposome” in the Practice of Epidemiology: APrimer on -Omic Technologies

D. Gayle DeBord, Tania Carreón, Thomas J. Lentz, Paul J.Middendorf, Mark D. Hoover, and Paul A. Schulte

American Journal of Epidemiology . 2016 August 15; 184(4): 302–314

The exposome has been defined as the totality of exposureindividuals experience over their lives and how those exposures affect health. Three domains of the exposome have been identified: internal, specific external and general external. Internal factors are those that are unique to the individual; and specific external factors include occupational exposures and lifestyle factors. The general external domain includes factors such as education level and financial status. Eliciting the exposome is daunting and at present not feasible and may never be fully realized. A variety of tools has been identified to measure the exposome. Biomarker measurements will be one of the major tools in exposomic studies. However, exposure data can also be obtained from other sources such as sensors, geographic information systems and conventional tools such as survey instruments. Proof of concept studies are being conducted that show the promise of the exposomic investigation and the integration of different kinds of data. The inherent value of exposomic data in epidemiologic studies is that they can provide greater understanding of the relationships among a broad range of chemical and other risk factors and diseases and ultimately lead to more effective and efficient prevention and
control.

What is new in the exposome?

Paolo Vineisa ,Oliver Robinson, Marc Chadeau-Hyam , Abbas Dehghan , Ian Mudway , Sonia Dagnino

Environment International 143 (2020) 105

The exposome concept refers to the totality of exposuresfrom a variety of external and internal sources including chemical agents, biological agents, or radiation, from conception onward, over a complete lifetime. It encompasses also “psychosocial components” including the impact of social relations and socio-economic position on health. In this review we provide examples of recent contributions from exposome research, where we believe their application will be of the greatest value for moving forward.

Featured in Newsletter #107 "Being Poor in Rich Cities"

The Association Between Income and Life Expectancy in theUnited States, 2001–2014:

Raj Chetty, MichaelStepner, Sarah Abraham, Shelby Lin, Benjamin Scuderi, Nicholas Turner, Augustin Bergeron, and David Cutler

JAMA. 2016 April 26; 315(16): 1750–1766

To measure the level, temporal trend, and geographicvariability in the association between income and life expectancy, and identify factors related to small area variation in this association. Income data for the US population were obtained from 1.4 billion deidentified tax records between 1999 and 2014. Mortality data were obtained from Social Security
Administration death records. These data were used to estimate race- and ethnicity-adjusted life expectancy at 40 years of age by household income percentile, sex, and geographic area, and to evaluate factors associated with
differences in life expectancy.
Conclusions and Relevance—In the United States between 2001and 2014, higher income was associated with greater longevity, and differences in life expectancy across income groups increased. However, the association between life expectancy and income varied substantially across areas; differences in longevity across income groups decreased in some areas and increased in others. The differences in life expectancy were correlated with health behaviors and local area characteristics.

Featured in Newsletter #108 “Since when…..”

Decision-Making Competence in Older Adults: A Rosy View Froma Longitudinal Investigation.

Del Missier, F, Hansson, P, Parker, AM, Wändi Bruine deBruin, Timo Mäntyläet

Psychology and Aging, 35 (4). pp. 553-564.

Cross-sectional studies have suggested age-relateddifferences in decision-making competence, but these differences may also reflect cohort-related effects. We present a longitudinal study of age-related changes over five years in older adults (aged 60-85), for three important aspects of decision-making competence: Resistance to Framing, Applying Decision Rules, and Resistance to Sunk Costs. Findings show small age-related longitudinal declines in Resistance to Framing, but no decline in Applying Decision Rules or Resistance to Sunk Costs. Results also indicate that
individuals’ decision-making competence after five years is significantly related to their initial decision-making competence assessment and that the contribution of crystallized abilities to decision making in older adults is
greater than previously thought.

Featured in Newsletter #111

Understanding the Aging Workforce: Defining a ResearchAgenda

The National Academies

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.2022. Understanding the Aging Workforce: Defining a Research Agenda. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26173.

Ageing and the workplace.

Nicholson PJ, Mayho G, Robson SA, Sharp C.

Ageing and theworkplace. BMA. London. 2016.

Feature in Newsletter #114 Taking Control of Life

Models of the Aging Self

Joel R. Sneed and Susan Krauss

Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 61, No. 2, 2005, pp. 375--388

Older adults are faced with numerous physical,psychological, and social role changes that challenge their sense of self and capacity to live happily. In addition, they are inundated by our youth-oriented culture with negative ageist stereotypes. Nevertheless, most older adults live happy, fulfilling lives. In this article, we review theories of the aging
individual that address this apparent paradox. These theories can be largely divided into those that emphasize control and goal attainment, and those that emphasize the self’s organizational capacity. Of the self-oriented theories, we
will highlight Whitbourne’s (1996) identity process perspective, which is specific to the aging process and attempts to explain the self’s unique capacity to remain stable yet change over time.

Feature in Newsletter #117 The Ageing of Glastonbury

Still Rare, Still Ridiculed: Portrayals of Senior CharactersOn Screen in Popular Films from 2015 and 2016

Dr. Stacy L. Smith,Dr. Katherine Pieper, & Marc Choueiti

https://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/still-rare-still-ridiculed.pdf

The purpose of the present investigation is to assess thedepiction of senior characters in popular films from 2016. To do so, a econdary analysis was conducted of the 100 top-grossing films of 2016, building on a yearly report authored by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. Every speaking or named character appearing on screen was evaluated
quantitatively for demographic attributes (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, LGBT status). Qualitatively, every senior character age 60 or older (n=458) was assessed for additional variables related to employment and health. Further, primary and secondary senior characters (n=93) were examined in a qualitative analysis. The leisure activities, relationships, and health profile of these characters were of interest. Finally, each film featuring a primary or secondary senior character was scoured for the presence of ageist comments.

Featured in Newsletter #118 Hilltop Villages

Co-designing a dementia village: Transforming dementia carethrough service design

Maria Taivalsaari Røhnebæk, Marit Engen, Ane Bast

Mario A. Pfannistiel (ed) (2023) Human-Centred ServiceDesign for Healthcare Tranformation. Springer

Dementia villages have gained attention as a promising newway of providing dementia care. The construction of dementia villages involves efforts to create more stimulating, healing and safe environments, and focuses on creating a homely atmosphere rather than one that is institutional and clinical. The concept originates from the Netherlands and is currently exported to various countries, which involves translations and adaptions when the concept is being implemented in diverse, new contexts. This chapter explores the role of service design in such translation processes, based on a study of creating a dementia village in a Norwegian municipality.

Featured in Newsletter #120 A Country for all Ages

LivingLife to the Fullest 2023 ACTION PLAN FOR SUCCESSFUL AGEING

Government of Singapore

https://www.moh.gov.sg/others/resources-and-statistics/action-plan-for-successful-ageing

Featured in Newsletter #121 Ageing is Universal

Pixels of Progress: A granular look at human development around the world

McKinseyGlobal Institute December 7,2022

https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/pixels-of-progress-introduction

In this new report, we share the findings from a new dataset that breaks theworld down into more than 40,000 microregions, a view 230 times more granular
than a country perspective. This pixelated version of the world, compiled with
cutting-edge statistical techniques like the use of night-time satellite
imagery, provides a much more nuanced view of development than previous
research, enhancing our understanding of global progress in ways that can help
business and governments make better, more targeted decisions.

Featured in Newsletter #0123 People Don't Take Their Pills Anyway

Medication Adherence: WHO Cares?

Marie T. Brown, and Jennifer K. Bussell

Mayo Clin Proc. 2011;86(4):304-314

The treatment of chronic illnesses commonly includes thelong term use of pharmacotherapy. Although these medications are effective in
combating disease, their full benefits are often not realized because approximately 50% of patients do not take their medications as prescribed. Factors contributing to poor medication adherence are myriad and include those that are related to patients (eg, suboptimal health literacy and lack of involvement in the treatment decision–making process), those that are related to physicians (eg, prescription of complex drug regimens, communication barriers, ineffective communication of information about adverse effects, and provision of care by multiple physicians), and those that are related to health care systems (eg, office visit time limitations, limited access to care, and
lack of health information technology). Because barriers to medication adherence are complex and varied, solutions to improve adherence must be multifactorial. This review surveys the findings and presents various strategies and resources for improving medication adherence.

Adherence to Long Term Therapies: Evidence for Action

World Health Organization 2003

Featured in Newsletter #125 Driving Ageism

DriveSafe and DriveAware Assessment Tools Are a Measure ofDriving-Related Function and Predicts SelfReported Restriction for Older Drivers

Claire Allan, KristyCoxon, Anita Bundy, Laura Peattie, and Lisa Keay

Journal of Applied Gerontology2016, Vol. 35(6) 583–600

Safety concerns together with aging of the drivingpopulation has prompted research into clinic-based driving assessments. This study investigates the relationship between the DriveSafe and DriveAware assessments and restriction of driving. Community-dwelling adults aged more than 75 (n = 380) were recruited in New South Wales, Australia. Questionnaires were administered to assess driving habits and functional assessments to assess
driving-related function.

The Licensing of Older Drivers in Europe— A Case Study.

C. G. B. (KIT)Mitchell

Traffic Injury Prevention,(2008) 9:4, 360-366, DOI: 10.1080/15389580801895160

European countries practice a wide range of car drivinglicense renewal procedures. These range from issuing lifelong licenses without subsequent medical checks, to issuing a license to age 70 and for 3- or 5-year periods thereafter based on self-declarations of medical fitness, to requiring medical examinations for renewal, to renewal every 5 years from the age of 45. This paper presents a case study of the different older driver licensing procedures in seven European countries and addresses the association between these procedures and older driver safety. There is no evidence that any license renewalprocedure or requirement for a medical examination has an effect on the overall road safety of drivers aged 65+, though undoubtedly there are individual drivers who should no longer be driving who might be detected by stringent renewal procedures. There is also evidence that stringent renewal procedures and demanding medical examinations at renewal reduce the level of car driving licenses among older people. This has direct implications for the independent mobility of older people. Reduced mobility also has safety implications: in about half the European countries for which road accident fatality data have been analyzed, people aged 65+ are at greater risk of death as a pedestrian than as a car driver.

Featured in Newsletter #128 Why Delay a First Child?

Childbearing for women born in different years, England andWales: 2020

Statistical bulletin of the UK Office of National Statistics

The changing composition of families over time, comparingthe fertility of women of the same age and the number of children they have had.

The Wage Growth and Within-Firm Mobility of Men and Women:New Evidence and Theory

Mary Ann Bronson, Peter Skogman Thoursie

Proceedings of the National Bureau of Economic Research 2021

Why do women’s wages grow more slowly than men’s? UsingSwedish administrative data, we answer this question in three steps. First, we analyze men’s and women’s real annual wage growth non-parametrically. We show that men’s and women’s wage growth distributions differ principally in one aspect: women are less likely than men to experience persistent within-firm wage shocks in the right tail of the wage growth distribution. These shocks move workers up their firm’s wage hierarchy, resemble internal promotions, and play a primary role in driving the gender differences in wage growth. Based on this evidence, in the second step we analyze men’s and women’s within-firm mobility. Using a novel wage-based measure of within-firm mobility, we estimate that gender differences in the probability of experiencing large internal promotions account for around 70% of the total difference in men’s and women’s wage growth by age 45. We quantify the contribution of differences in humancapital characteristics and occupation, sorting across firms, and hours worked and childbirth to the observed promotion gap. Alongside substantial motherhood penalties, we also document sizable dynamic gender penalties in promotion that are largest early in the lifecycle, reverse after age 40, and are observed both for women who eventually have children and those who remain childless. Lastly, to interpret our findings, we develop a model of promotion dynamics based on Gibbons and Waldman (1999). We conclude that the key empirical facts about promotion and wage growth are not readily explained by behavioural channels, such as gender differences in competitiveness or propensity to negotiate, but are consistent with costs to firms associated with employee leave-taking associated with childbirth, and employer uncertainty about women’s future childbearing and labour.

Featured in Newsletter #149 Societal Participation

The Capability Approach and the WHO healthy ageing framework(for the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing)

Sridhar Venkatapuram, Jotheeswaran Amuthavalli Thiyagarajan

Age and Ageing 2023; 52: iv6–iv9https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afad126

This commentary discusses the WHO definition of healthageing in terms of functional abilities, and the problem definition and evidence-based public health response framework outlined in the 2015 WHO Report on Ageing and Health. After identifying the neglect of older people in health policy at national and global levels, some data are presented on the majority of COVID-19 deaths being older people. The discussion then focuses on the underlying ethical and analytical framework of functional abilities provided by the Capability Approach. The approach is presented as distinguishing between achievement and capability, the ethical significance of recognising both, and its inclusion of surrounding social conditions from local to global in assessing wellbeing of older people’s functional abilities. Measurement of functional abilities, informed by the Capabilities Approach, is stated to be an enormous and crucial task in establishing a global baseline, and making progress in improving the health and wellbeing of older people.

Aging with purpose: Why meaningful engagement with society matters

October 23, 2023

The McKinsey Health Institute analysis shows older adults are happier and healthier when they engage more in
society—and helping them do so could benefit the economy.

https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/aging-with-purpose-why-meaningful-engagement-with-society-matters

Featured in Newsletter #150 Don't Call Me Old

Who Are You Calling Old? Negotiating Old Age Identity in the Elderly Consumption Ensemble

MICHELLE BARNHART LISA PENALOZA

Journal of Consumer Research April 2013, 1133 to 1153

As the elderly population increases, more family, friends,and paid service providers assist them with consumption activities in a group that the authors conceptualize as the elderly consumption ensemble (ECE). Interviews with members of eight ECEs demonstrate consumption in advanced age as a group phenomenon rather than an individual one, provide an account of how the practices and discourses of the ECE’s division of consumption serve as a means of knowing someone is old and positioning him/her as an old subject, and detail strategies through which older consumers negotiate their age identity when it conflicts with this positioning. This research (1) illuminates ways in
which consumer agency in identity construction is constrained in interpersonal interactions, (2) demonstrates old identity as implicated in consumption in relation to and distinction from physiological ability and old subject
position, and (3) updates the final stages of the Family Life Cycle

Featured in Newsletter # 184 Do You Need a Fitness Tracker.

Effectiveness of wearable activity trackers to increase physical activity and improve health: a systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

Ty Ferguson, TimothyOlds, Rachel Curtis, Henry Blake, Alyson J Crozier, Kylie Dankiw, Dorothea
Dumuid, Daiki Kasai, Edward O’Connor, Rosa Virgara, Carol Maher

The Lancet Digital Health 2022

Wearable activity trackers offer an appealing, low-cost tool to address physical inactivity. This systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (umbrella review) aimed to examine the effectiveness of activity trackers for improving physical activity and related physiological and psychosocial outcomes in clinical and non-clinical populations. Seven databases (Embase, MEDLINE, Ovid Emcare, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) were searched from database inception to April 8, 2021. Systematic reviews of primary studies using activity trackers as interventions and reporting physical activity, physiological, or psychosocial outcomes were eligible for inclusion. In total, 39 systematic reviews and meta-analyses were identified, reporting results from 163 992 participants spanning all age
groups, from both healthy and clinical populations. Taken together, the meta-analyses suggested activity trackers improved physical activity (standardised mean difference [SMD] 0·3–0·6), body composition (SMD 0·7–2·0), and fitness (SMD 0·3), equating to approximately 1800 extra steps per day, 40 min per day more walking, and reductions of approximately 1 kg in bodyweight. Effects for other physiological (blood pressure, cholesterol, and glycosylated
haemoglobin) and psychosocial (quality of life and pain) outcomes were typically small and often non-significant. Activity trackers appear to be effective at increasing physical activity in a variety of age groups and clinical and non-clinical populations. The benefit is clinically important and is sustained over time. Based on the studies evaluated, there is sufficient evidence to recommend the use of activity trackers.

The effectiveness of a wearable activity tracker (WAT)-based intervention to improve physical activity levels in sedentary older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Justina Yat-Wa Liu*, Patrick Pui-Kin Kor, Claire Pik-YingChan, Rick Yiu-Cho Kwan, Daphne Sze-Ki

Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 2020

The evidence shows that WAT-based interventions enhance the physical activity (PA) levels of young people by sustainably delivering behavior change techniques (BCTs). These results may not be replicable among older adults. This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of WAT-based interventions in improving PA levels in sedentary older adults.

Eight electronic databases were searched for randomizedcontrolled trials published January 2008 to December 2018. BCTs delivered by WAT aimed at increasing PA levels using step counts or time spent on moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) exercise as an outcome were eligible for inclusion.

In nine out of the ten included studies, higher PA levels were seen in the intervention group than in the control group. One study where the participants’ mean age was 80+ showed no significant increase in PA levels. Significant effects were also demonstrated from the meta-analysis, which included four studies using a passive control (i.e., the usual care or health information) on step counts (n = 207, Hedges g = 1.27, 95 % CI = 0.51–2.04, p = 0.001) and two studies on MVPA (n = 83, Hedge’s g = 1.23, 95 % CI = 0.75–1.70, p < 0.001). A non-significant effect was found on step counts (n = 201, Hedge’s g = 0.22, 95 % CI = 0.62 to 1.06, p = 0.61) in three studies that used an active control comparison group (i.e., traditional pedometer).

A WAT-based intervention is effective at improving PA levels among older adults over the short term when compared with the usual care or health information. However, when compared with a traditional pedometer or when
used among old-old adults, the results were inconclusive.

Wearable Devices, Health Care Use, and Psychological Well-Being in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Lindsey Rosman , Rachel Lampert , Songcheng Zhuo, Quefeng Li , Niraj Varma , Matthew Burg, Allison E. Gaffey , Tiffany Armbruster , Anil Gehi

Journal of the American Heart Association 2024;13:e033750.

Wearables are increasingly used by patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) for symptom monitoring and health management, but their impact on patient health care use and psychological well-being is not well understood. In this retrospective, propensity-matched study of patients with AF, survey and electronic health record data were merged to compare AF-specific health care use (outpatient/inpatient visits, rhythm-related testing, and procedures) and informal health care use (telephone calls and patient portal messages) over a 9-month period between wearable users and nonusers. We also examined the effects of wearable cardiac monitoring features (eg, heart rate alerts, irregular rhythm notification, and ECG) on patient behavior and well-being. Of 172 patients with AF in this analysis (age, 72.6±9.0years; 42% women), 83 used a wearable.

Compared with nonusers, wearable users reported higher rates of symptom monitoring and preoccupation (P=0.03) and more AF treatment concerns (P=0.02). Moreover, 20% of wearable users experienced anxiety and always contacted their doctors in response to irregular rhythm notifications. After matching, AF-specific health care use was significantly greater among wearable users compared with nonusers (P=0.04), including significantly higher rates of ECGs, echocardiograms/transesophageal echocardiogram, and ablation. Wearable users were also significantly more likely to use informal health care resources compared with nonusers (P=0.05).

Wearables were associated with higher rates of symptom monitoring and preoccupation, AF treatment concerns, AF-specific health care use, and use of informal health care resources. Prospective, randomized studies are needed to understand the net effects of wearables and their alerts on patients, providers, and the health care syste