Korean Beliefs about Everyday Memory and Aging for Self and Others

Abstract

Studies in the West have demonstrated that more everyday memory problems are expected for typical older adults than for typical young adults. In order to examine memory beliefs about aging in Asia, we conducted a study in Korea which parallels that of Ryan and Kwong See (1993). We used the three self-efficacy scales of the Metamemory in Adulthood instrument (Dixon & Hultsch, 1983) to determine whether age changes are anticipated for oneself as well as for typical adults. Young adults (N = 468; mean age = 21.0 years) rated the memory of either typical adults (aged 25, 45, or 65 years) or themselves at one of these ages. As in Ryan and Kwong See (1993), anticipation of decline was obtained on two of the three self-efficacy scales (i.e., capacity and change). In addition, beliefs about everyday memory decline (i.e., capacity and locus) were weaker for the self than for typical others. Hence, support was obtained for negative stereotypes about memory and aging in Korea as well as a self-protection bias indicating stronger anticipation of age-related decline among others.

Perceptions of Aging in Two Cultures: Korean and American Views on Old Age

“…Furthermore, Jin, Ryan and Anas (2001) portrayed South Korean participants to anticipate more negative changes and less control over memory for individuals entering into old age. Interestingly, results showed a possible target effect of age to be greater than findings from a comparable study conducted using a North American sample.…”

Ageing in Asia—The Japan Experience

“…Furthermore, Jin et al (2001) portrayed South Korean participants to anticipate more negative changes and less control over memory for individuals entering into old age. Interestingly, results showed a possible target effect of age to be greater than findings from a comparable study conducted using a North American sample.…”

Cross-Cultural Beliefs about Memory and Aging for Self and Others: South Korea and Canada

“…No evidence of a self-protective bias was found. In contrast, the Jin et al (2001) Korean replication study documented the self-protective bias in the memory domain for the first time. In particular, differences in capacity and locus across target ages were larger for typical others than anticipated for the self.…”

“…However, a replication comparing Chinese immigrants to Canada with English Canadians found the generally positive aging attitude among the Asian immigrants, but the same age-group differences in memory performance occurred for the two cultural groups (Yoon, Hasher, Feinberg, Rahhal, & Winocur, 2000). To assess Asian expectations specifically about memory across the adult age span, Jin, Ryan, and Anas (2001) replicated the independent-group study of Ryan and Kwong See (1993) study in South Korea, with 25-, 45-, and 65-year-old targets and found a similar strong pattern of increased expectation for memory problems with aging among Korean young adults for all three scales (i.e., capacity, change, and locus). However, only a direct comparison of participants from the East and the West can establish whether memory expectations differ across cultures.…”