Paper ID
3475
Paper Type
full
Description
We propose that although just an oversimplified picture, the stereotype that older adults cannot use IT turns into a real threat to older adults on IT tasks. We find in an experiment with 96 older adults on a municipality website that the stereotype of not being able to use IT creates a toxic cognitive load in the minds of older adults, which in turn significantly impairs their information search on the website. Based on cognitive load as a theoretical leverage point for an intervention against IT-based stereotype threat, our results furthermore highlight that increasing a website’s ease of use effectively protects older adults against the stereotype about their inability in the IS domain. We offer in this paper a theoretically-grounded starting point for disarming prejudice in the digital transformation of societies.
Recommended Citation
Noeltner, Markus; Kroenung, Julia; and Kuhlmann, Beatrice G., "Disarming Prejudice: How Ease of Use Mitigates the Detrimental Effect of IT-Based Stereotype Threat on the IT Task Performance of Older Adults" (2019). ICIS 2019 Proceedings. 35.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2019/behavior_is/behavior_is/35
Disarming Prejudice: How Ease of Use Mitigates the Detrimental Effect of IT-Based Stereotype Threat on the IT Task Performance of Older Adults
We propose that although just an oversimplified picture, the stereotype that older adults cannot use IT turns into a real threat to older adults on IT tasks. We find in an experiment with 96 older adults on a municipality website that the stereotype of not being able to use IT creates a toxic cognitive load in the minds of older adults, which in turn significantly impairs their information search on the website. Based on cognitive load as a theoretical leverage point for an intervention against IT-based stereotype threat, our results furthermore highlight that increasing a website’s ease of use effectively protects older adults against the stereotype about their inability in the IS domain. We offer in this paper a theoretically-grounded starting point for disarming prejudice in the digital transformation of societies.