Becca Levy

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Becca Levy
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Occupation Psychologist, professor, social scientist, director, gerontologist, epidemiologist, university teacher  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
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Website https://ysph.yale.edu/profile/becca_levy/   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Becca R. Levy is a professor of Epidemiology (Social and Behavioral Sciences) at Yale School of Public Health and Professor of Psychology at Yale University. She is a leading researcher in the fields of social gerontology and psychology of aging. [1] She is credited with creating the field of how age stereotypes, which are assimilated from the culture, impact the health of older individuals. [2] The Dean of Columbia School of Public Health describes Levy as "a pioneer" in the "growing body of impressive research showing that our attitudes toward aging affect our health, our resilience in the face of adversity, and our very survival." [3]

Contents

Career

Levy was born in Atlanta, GA. She studied psychology and Near Eastern studies at the University of Michigan, where she received a BA with Highest Distinction. Next she received her MA and PhD in psychology from Harvard University. She trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School in the Division on Aging and Department of Social Medicine. Levy then became assistant professor at the Yale School of Public Health. She is now Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Psychosocial Determinants of Aging Health at the Yale School of Public Health. She is also a professor in the Department of Psychology at Yale University.

Levy has created an area of research that focuses on the extent to which the aging process is a product of society. [4] She has examined this in a series of innovative studies that demonstrate culture-based positive and negative age stereotypes of older persons have beneficial and detrimental influences, respectively, on a wide range of health conditions. [5] Her research has demonstrated that several of the adverse health conditions assumed to be solely and inevitably a result of aging are, in fact, influenced by negative age stereotypes. [2]

The studies in which she was first author have found that age stereotypes contribute to (a) physical outcomes, such as longevity, [3] [6] [7] Alzheimer's disease biomarkers, [8] physical function, [9] cardiovascular events, [10] and delayed physical recovery; [11] (b) mental-health outcomes, such as stress levels, [12] [13] will to live, [14] and psychiatric disorders; [15] [16] (c) risky health behaviors, such as rejecting prescribed medications [17] and obesity; [18] and (d) cognitive outcomes, such as dementia incidence [19] and memory. [20] [21]

Levy's studies also show that positive age stereotypes can benefit the health of older persons. Her finding that positive age beliefs can increase older persons' longevity has become one of the most cited findings about old age. [22] She has also demonstrated that positive age stereotypes can be enhanced and negative age stereotypes can be diminished through interventions. [7] [23] [5]

This body of research has formed the basis for her stereotype embodiment theory (SET), which posits that the age stereotypes of one's culture are internalized from childhood, reinforced throughout the lifespan, eventually become self-relevant, and then influence health in old age through psychological, behavioral, and physiological pathways. [23] [24] According to SET, these stereotypes can operate implicitly. Levy and Mahzarin Banaji are credited with coining the term "implicit ageism". [25] [26]

Levy's research findings about the impact of age stereotypes on older persons' health have been reproduced by scientists in five continents and supported by numerous meta-analyses. [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] Her ground-breaking studies utilize a variety of complementary methodologies, including experimental, [9] longitudinal, [10] and cross-cultural approaches. [32]

Levy has contributed over 130 articles and chapters to psychological, gerontological, and medical journals and books. [1] Her research has been supported by the National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Science Foundation, Donaghue Medical Research Foundation, and Brookdale Foundation.

Levy's studies have had a real-world impact on improving the well-being of older persons. [33] She conducted the first study to show the economic impact of ageism on the health of older persons. [34] In that study it was found that the financial cost of ageism on health in one year in the United States was $63 billion. [35] She testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging about the harmful impact of ageism in popular media and marketing. [36] Her findings provided the basis for amicus briefs in age-discrimination cases at the U.S. Supreme Court. [37] The American Psychological Association advocated a historic resolution against ageism that used her research as an evidence base, citing 11 of her studies. [24] The practical applications of Levy's research have extended beyond the U.S. For instance, her findings provided the rationale for a World Health Organization Campaign to End Ageism, supported by 194 countries, in which she is a scientific advisor. [38] [39] [40]

Her studies on health and aging has been featured in national media, such as The New York Times , [41] [42] [43] [5] and NPR, [44] [45] CNN Health, [46] The Wall Street Journal , [47] U.S. News & World Report , [48] and Times Magazine , [49] as well as international media, such as The Guardian , [50] [51] Der Spiegel , [52] and the BBC. [53]

Awards

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

The implicit-association test (IAT) is an assessment intended to detect subconscious associations between mental representations of objects (concepts) in memory. Its best-known application is the assessment of implicit stereotypes held by test subjects, such as associations between particular racial categories and stereotypes about those groups. The test has been applied to a variety of belief associations, such as those involving racial groups, gender, sexuality, age, and religion but also the self-esteem, political views, and predictions of the test taker. The implicit-association test is the subject of significant academic and popular debate regarding its validity, reliability, and usefulness in assessing implicit bias.

Stereotype threat is a situational predicament in which people are or feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to stereotypes about their social group. It is theorized to be a contributing factor to long-standing racial and gender gaps in academic performance. Since its introduction into the academic literature, stereotype threat has become one of the most widely studied topics in the field of social psychology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Steele</span> American social psychologist and professor (b. 1946)

Claude Mason Steele is a social psychologist and emeritus professor at Stanford University, where he is the I. James Quillen Endowed Dean, Emeritus at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, and Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences, Emeritus.

Paul B. Baltes was a German psychologist whose broad scientific agenda was devoted to establishing and promoting the life-span orientation of human development. He was also a theorist in the field of the psychology of aging. He has been described by American Psychologist as one of the most influential developmental psychologists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahzarin Banaji</span> Indian social psychologist (born 1959)

Mahzarin Rustum Banaji FBA is an American psychologist of Indian origin at Harvard University, known for her work popularizing the concept of implicit bias in regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, and other factors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stereotype</span> Generalized but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing

In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example, an expectation about the group's personality, preferences, appearance or ability. Stereotypes are often overgeneralized, inaccurate, and resistant to new information. A stereotype does not necessarily need to be a negative assumption. They may be positive, neutral, or negative.

Mara Mather is a professor of gerontology and psychology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. Her research deals with aging and affective neuroscience, focusing on how emotion and stress affect memory and decisions. She is the daughter of mathematician John N. Mather.

In social psychology, self-stereotyping is a process by which an individual integrates and internalizes commonly held characterizations of an in-group into their self-concept. It is described as part of social identity theory (SIT) and, more specifically, self-categorization theory (SCT).

An implicit bias or implicit stereotype is the pre-reflective attribution of particular qualities by an individual to a member of some social out group. Recent studies have determined that "implicit bias" towards those of the opposite gender may be even more influential than racial implicit bias.

Stereotype embodiment theory (SET) is a theoretical model first posited by psychologist Becca Levy to explain the process by which age stereotypes influence the health of older adults. There are multiple well-documented effects of age stereotypes on a number of cognitive and physical outcomes (including memory, cardiovascular reactivity, and longevity).

Klaus F. Riegel was professor of psychology at the University of Michigan from 1959 to 1977. His research and theory contributions encompassed psycholinguistics, gerontology, developmental psychology, and dialectical psychology. Riegel edited the international journal Human Development from 1970 to 1977. In 1975, the Gerontological Society of America presented Riegel with the Robert W. Kleemeier Award for outstanding research in the field of gerontology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ursula Staudinger</span> German psychologist

Ursula M. Staudinger is a German psychologist and researcher of aging. She is the rector of the Technical University of Dresden (TUD). She was Professor of Sociomedical Sciences and Professor of Psychology at the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at Columbia University. Between 2013 and 2017 Staudinger was the founding director of the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center and president of the affiliated International Longevity Center.

Laura L. Carstensen is the Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr. Professor in Public Policy and professor of psychology at Stanford University, where she is founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity and the principal investigator for the Stanford Life-span Development Laboratory. Carstensen is best known in academia for socioemotional selectivity theory, which has illuminated developmental changes in social preferences, emotional experience and cognitive processing from early adulthood to advanced old age. By examining postulates of socioemotional selectivity theory, Carstensen and her colleagues identified and developed the conceptual basis of the positivity effect.

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Kaarin Anstey is an Australian Laureate Fellow and one of Australia's top dementia scientists. She is Co-Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) at the University of New South Wales, Australia, where she is Scientia Professor of Psychology. Kaarin Anstey is an Honorary Professor at the Australian National University and a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. She is a Director of the NHMRC Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration, Senior Principal Research Scientist at NeuRA and leads the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Cognitive Health and the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute.

Jutta Heckhausen is Professor of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine. She specializes in life-span developmental psychology, motivation, individual agency and social context. She expanded her education at the Center for Social and Behavioral Science, Stanford University and at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research, University Bielefeld, Germany. At the Department of Psychological Science at University of California, Irvine, she teaches in the areas of life-span development and motivational psychology.

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Margie E. Lachman is an American psychologist. She is the Minnie and Harold Fierman Professor of Psychology at Brandeis University, director of the Lifespan Developmental Psychology Lab and the director of the Boston Roybal Center for Active Lifestyle Interventions. She was editor of the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences (2000-2003), and has edited two volumes on midlife development. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, Division 20 and the Gerontological Society of America. Lachman's research is in the area of lifespan development with a focus on midlife and later life. Her current work is aimed at identifying psychosocial and behavioral factors that can protect against, minimize, or compensate for declines in cognition and health. She is conducting studies to examine long-term predictors of psychological and physical health, laboratory-based experiments to identify psychological and physiological processes involved in aging-related changes, especially in memory, and intervention studies to enhance performance and promote adaptive functioning through active engagement and physical activity.

Jeffrey Sherman is a Social Psychologist and Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. He is known for his research on social cognition, stereotyping, and implicit bias.

Karen L. Fingerman is the Wilson Regents Professor in Human Ecology and professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. She has published nearly 200 works on intergenerational and social ties. Fingerman is well known for her work on older adult socio-emotional processes, health, and well-being. Most notably, Fingerman generated the Social Input Model and coined the term “consequential strangers”. In 2018, Fingerman founded the Texas Aging & Longevity Consortium and serves as the current Director in tandem with her position as Director of Research at the Texas Center on Aging and Population Sciences.

References

  1. 1 2 "Becca Levy". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  2. 1 2 Appleby, J. (2019). From the CEO:  Is ageism the "secondhand smoke" of healthy aging? Gerontological News, 47(7), 2.
  3. 1 2 Fried, Linda P. (2014-06-01). "Making Aging Positive". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  4. ↑ Butler, R. N. (2010). The longevity revolution: The benefits and challenges of living a long life. New York: PublicAffairs.
  5. 1 2 3 Brody, Jane E. (2017-03-27). "A Positive Outlook May Be Good for Your Health (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  6. ↑ Elejalde-Ruiz, Alexia (October 12, 2011). "How old do you feel inside?". Chicago Tribune.
  7. 1 2 Levy, B., Slade M. D., & Kasl, S. V. (2002). Increased longevity by positive self-perceptions of aging. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 261-270.
  8. ↑ Levy, B. R., Ferrucci, L., Zonderman, A. B., Slade, M. D., Troncoso, J., & Resnick, S. M. (2016). A culture–brain link: Negative age stereotypes predict Alzheimer's disease biomarkers. Psychology and Aging, 31, 82-88.
  9. 1 2 Levy, B. R., Pilver C., Chung, P. H., & Slade, M. D. (2014). Subliminal strengthening: Improving older individuals' physical function over time with an implicit-age-stereotype intervention. Psychological Science, 25, 2127-2135.
  10. 1 2 13 Levy, B. R., Zonderman, A. B., Slade, M. D., & Ferrucci, L. (2009). Age stereotypes held earlier in life predict cardiovascular events in later life. Psychological Science, 20, 296-8.
  11. ↑ Levy, B. R., Slade, M. D., Murphy, T. E., & Gill, T. M. (2012). Association between positive age stereotypes and recovery from disability in older persons. JAMA, 308, 1972-1973.
  12. ↑ Levy, B. R., Hausdorff, J. M., Hencke, R., & Wei, J. Y. (2000). Reducing cardiovascular stress with positive self-stereotypes of aging. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 55, 205-213.
  13. ↑ Levy, B. R., Moffat, S., Resnick, S. M., Slade, M. D., & Ferrucci, L. (2016). Buffer against cumulative stress:  Positive age self-stereotypes predict lower cortisol across 30 Years. GeroPsych:  The Journal of Gerontopsychology and Geriatric Psychiatry, 29, 141-146.
  14. ↑ Levy, B., Ashman, O., & Dror, I. (2000). To be or not to be:  The effects of aging stereotypes on the will to live. Omega:  Journal of Death and Dying, 40, 409-420
  15. ↑ Levy, B. R., Chung, P. H., Slade, M .D., Van Ness, P. H., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2019). Active coping shields against negative aging self-stereotypes contributing to psychiatric conditions. Social Science and Medicine, 228, 25-29.
  16. ↑ Levy B. R., Pilver, C. E., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2014). Lower prevalence of psychiatric conditions when negative age stereotypes are resisted. Social Science and Medicine, 119, 170-174.
  17. ↑ Levy, B. R., & Myers, L. M. (2004). Preventive health behaviors influenced by self-perceptions of aging. Preventive Medicine, 39, 625-629.
  18. ↑ Levy, B. R., & Slade, M. D. (2019). Positive views of aging reduce risk of developing later-life obesity. Preventive Medicine Report, 13, 196-198.
  19. ↑ Levy, B. R., Slade, M. D., Pietrzak, R. H., & Ferrucci L. (2018). Positive age beliefs protect against dementia even among elders with high-risk gene. PLOS ONE, 13, e191004
  20. ↑ Levy, B. (1996). Improving memory in old age through implicit self-stereotyping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1092-1107.
  21. ↑ Levy, B. R., Zonderman, A. B., Slade, M. D., & Ferrucci, L. (2012). Memory shaped by age stereotypes over time. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences,67, 432-436.
  22. ↑ Carney, G., & Nash, P. (2020). Critical questions for Aging Societies. Bristol University Press.
  23. 1 2 Levy, B. (2009). Stereotype embodiment: A psychological approach to aging. Current Directions in Psychological Science , 18, 332-336.
  24. 1 2 "Resolution on Ageism" (PDF). American Psychological Association. 2020.
  25. ↑ Levy, B. R., & Banaji, M. R. (2002). Implicit ageism. In T. D. Nelson (Ed.), Ageism: Stereotypes and prejudice against older persons. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
  26. ↑ "How To Defy Ageism". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  27. ↑ Levy, Becca R.; Slade, M. D.; Chang, E-S; Kannoth, S; Wang, S-Y (2020). "Ageism Amplifies Cost and Prevalence of Health Conditions". The Gerontologist. 60: 174–181. doi:10.1093/geront/gny131. PMC   7182003 . PMID   30423119.
  28. ↑ Horton S., Baker, J., Pearce, G., Deakin, J.M. (2008). On the malleability of performance- implications for seniors. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 27, 446–465.
  29. ↑ Westerhof, G.J, Miche, M., Brothers, A.F., et al. (2014). The influence of subjective aging on health and longevity: A meta-analysis of longitudinal data. Psychological Aging, 29, 793–802.
  30. ↑ Lamont, R. A., Swift, H.J., Abrams, D. (2015). A review and meta-analysis of age-based stereotype threat: negative stereotypes, not facts, do the damage. Psychological Aging, 30, 180–93.
  31. ↑ Meisner, B.A. (2012). A meta-analysis of positive and negative age stereotype priming effects on behavior among older adults. Journal of Gerontology B: Psychology Sciences and Social Sciences, 67, 13–17.
  32. ↑ Levy, B., & Langer, E. (1994). Aging free from negative stereotypes:  Successful memory in China and among the American Deaf. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 989-997.
  33. ↑ Lachman, M. (2020, August). Introduction to Baltes Award Address. American Psychological Association Annual Conference.
  34. ↑ "Altmetric – Ageism Amplifies Cost and Prevalence of Health Conditions". oxfordjournals.altmetric.com. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  35. ↑ Thurrott, Stephanie (February 14, 2019). "How ageism is costing the country $63 billion a year". New York Times.
  36. ↑ The Image of Aging in Media and Marketing 2002. Special Committee on Aging United States Senate.
  37. ↑ United States Supreme Court. "Smith v. City of Jackson, Mississippi." Oyez, www.oyez.org/cases/2004/03-1160. Accessed 23 Oct. 2020.
  38. ↑ Park, Alice (January 17, 2020). "How ageism negatively affects older people's health". Times.
  39. ↑ Officer, Alana; de la Fuente-Núñez, Vânia (2018). "A global campaign to combat ageism". Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 96 (4): 295–296. doi:10.2471/BLT.17.202424. PMC   5872010 . PMID   29695887.
  40. ↑ Span, Paula (2019-04-26). "Ageism: A 'Prevalent and Insidious' Health Threat (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  41. ↑ Leland, John (October 6, 2008). "In 'Sweetie' and 'Dear', a Hurt for the Elderly". The New York Times.
  42. ↑ Bakalar, Nicholas (August 9, 2016). "Read books, live longer?" (PDF). New York Times.
  43. ↑ Graham, Judith (December 19, 2012). "Older people become what they think. Study shows" (PDF). New York Times.
  44. ↑ Jaffe, Ina (May 28, 2016). "Could thinking positively about aging be the secret to health?". NPR.
  45. ↑ Lachs, Mark (April 11, 2011). "Want to live to 100? Try to bounce back from stress". NPR.
  46. ↑ Avramova, Nina (December 3, 2019). "The secret to a long, happy, healthy life? Think positive". CNN Health.
  47. ↑ Tergesen, Anne (2015-10-19). "To Age Well, Change How You Feel About Aging". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  48. ↑ Esposito, Lisa (December 26, 2015). "Ageism, attitude, and health". U.S. News & World Report.
  49. ↑ Oaklander, Mandy (September 15, 2016). "How outlook and social ties affect the way you age". Times.
  50. ↑ Flood, Alison (August 8, 2016). "Book up for a longer life: readers die later, study finds". The Guardian.
  51. ↑ Fleming, Nic (October 31, 2011). "The curse of the Halloween baby: women avoid giving birth on 'evil day'". The Guardian.
  52. ↑ Bruhns, A. (2017, June 27) Jung im Kopf!  Gutes vom Alter zu erwarten hält nachweislich jung – besser als jedes Fitnesstraining.
  53. ↑ Mosley, M. (2013). BBC Television Documentary. Horizon. The Truth about Personality
  54. ↑ Hooker, Karen; Prakash, Ruchika (2019). "Adult Development and Aging News". American Psychological Association.
  55. ↑ "Yale scientist is recognized for research in geriatrics". medicine.yale.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  56. ↑ "Five New R3 Awards Extend the Benefit of Research". The Donaghue Foundation. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  57. ↑ "Yale University's Levy wins The Gerontological Society of America's 2003 Margret M. Baltes Award". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  58. ↑ "Springer Early Career Achievement Award in Research on Adult Development and Aging" . Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  59. ↑ "The Brookdale Foundation Group". brookdalefoundation.net. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  60. ↑ Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award. 2016. Gerontological Society of America. Gerontological News.
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