Cognitive Cognitive Processes Processes
in in AdulthoodAdulthood
PerspectivesPerspectives
Organismic: Piaget Organismic: Piaget – formal operations: abstractionsformal operations: abstractions– Post-formal operationsPost-formal operations
Problem findingProblem finding Dialectical reasoningDialectical reasoning
Mechanistic: Social learningMechanistic: Social learning Contextual: Vygotsky – Contextual: Vygotsky –
interactionsinteractions Psychometric: intelligencePsychometric: intelligence
IntelligenceIntelligence
What is it?What is it?– inherited and acquiredinherited and acquired– no general definitionno general definition
Intelligent BehaviourIntelligent Behaviour– goal-oriented (conscious, deliberate)goal-oriented (conscious, deliberate)– adaptive (problem solving)adaptive (problem solving)
MultidimensionalMultidimensional
DiverseDiverse Cattell’s “g”Cattell’s “g”
– Whatever intelligence tests measure: “IQ”Whatever intelligence tests measure: “IQ” Thurstone: seven primary mental Thurstone: seven primary mental
abilitiesabilities Sternberg: cognitive approachSternberg: cognitive approach
– analytic (academic)analytic (academic)– practical (problem solving)practical (problem solving)– creativecreative
Cattell & Horn: two Cattell & Horn: two “competencies”“competencies” Fluid Intelligence: flexible Fluid Intelligence: flexible
reasoningreasoning– Basic mental abilitiesBasic mental abilities– E.g., abstract thinking, speed of E.g., abstract thinking, speed of
thinking, problem solvingthinking, problem solving Crystallized intelligence: factsCrystallized intelligence: facts
– Information acquired from education Information acquired from education and experienceand experience
Gardner: multiple Gardner: multiple intelligencesintelligences Logical/mathLogical/math LinguisticLinguistic Visual/spatialVisual/spatial MusicalMusical Body/kinestheticBody/kinesthetic InterpersonalInterpersonal IntrapersonalIntrapersonal
Intelligence and AgingIntelligence and Aging
Stereotype:Stereotype: intellectual activity peaks at 18-intellectual activity peaks at 18-
19 years19 years declines steadily with agedeclines steadily with age
Developmental Developmental Research Shows:Research Shows: most intellectual abilities stable most intellectual abilities stable
throughout early and middle throughout early and middle adulthoodadulthood
cohort differences = powerful cohort differences = powerful influence on intelligence influence on intelligence differencesdifferences
many factors affect intellectual many factors affect intellectual functioning: education, health, functioning: education, health, mental well-beingmental well-being
Growth, Stability, or Growth, Stability, or Decline?Decline?
Decrementalist vs. Decrementalist vs.
Continued Potential views Continued Potential views
Psychometric Psychometric PerspectivePerspective Focus on:Focus on: measuring the mindmeasuring the mind individual differencesindividual differences description, not explanationdescription, not explanation
Intelligence TestingIntelligence Testing
Francis GaltonFrancis Galton Cattell, BinetCattell, Binet Wechsler Adult Intelligence ScalesWechsler Adult Intelligence Scales
Verbal (language, knowledge)Verbal (language, knowledge) Performance (manipulate info. to Performance (manipulate info. to
solve problems)solve problems)
Greater decline in performance Greater decline in performance than verbal tests over agethan verbal tests over age
Fluid vs. CrystallizedFluid vs. Crystallized
Decline in fluid, stable/increase in Decline in fluid, stable/increase in crystallizedcrystallized
Seattle Longitudinal Seattle Longitudinal Study (Warner Schaie, Study (Warner Schaie, 1994)1994) 5,000 participants 5,000 participants
(representative)(representative) Studied six times, at 7-year Studied six times, at 7-year
intervalsintervals Several cohorts (21-71 years)Several cohorts (21-71 years) Began in 1956, latest testing in Began in 1956, latest testing in
19921992
Charted course of 6 primary Charted course of 6 primary mental abilities (PMAT)mental abilities (PMAT)– inductive reasoninginductive reasoning– numeric abilitynumeric ability– verbal abilityverbal ability– spatial orientationspatial orientation– verbal memoryverbal memory– perceptual speedperceptual speed
Cross-Sectional Cross-Sectional ResultsResults Much individual variabilityMuch individual variability Maintenance/increase to @ age Maintenance/increase to @ age
5050 Decline in performance beyond Decline in performance beyond
50 yrs.50 yrs. Verbal memory best maintainedVerbal memory best maintained Perceptual speed most reducedPerceptual speed most reduced
Longitudinal ResultsLongitudinal Results
cohort differencescohort differences no change/increase in no change/increase in
performance across ageperformance across age
Performance of total sample at Performance of total sample at each measurement intervaleach measurement interval– peak at midlifepeak at midlife– increasing decline with ageincreasing decline with age
Cohort Effects (over 28 years)Cohort Effects (over 28 years)– Break data down by birth dateBreak data down by birth date– Positive Cohort TrendsPositive Cohort Trends– Later-born perform better than Later-born perform better than
earlier-born (in general)earlier-born (in general)
General Conclusions General Conclusions about Age-Effectsabout Age-Effects Large individual differences in Large individual differences in
degree, rate, and pattern of degree, rate, and pattern of change with agechange with age
Different aspects of intelligence Different aspects of intelligence follow different patterns of follow different patterns of change with time (e.g., change with time (e.g., crystallized vs. fluid intelligence)crystallized vs. fluid intelligence)
Cohort trends show influence of Cohort trends show influence of socio-historical context on cognitive socio-historical context on cognitive developmentdevelopment
In healthy adults, cognitive decline is In healthy adults, cognitive decline is small, at least until very late small, at least until very late adulthoodadulthood
Trends support combination of Trends support combination of decrement and continued-potentialdecrement and continued-potential
Factors Influencing Factors Influencing Intellectual Performance Intellectual Performance in Later Lifein Later Life HealthHealth
– normal vs. superior health normal vs. superior health (Botwinick & Birren, 1963)(Botwinick & Birren, 1963)
– superior > normal on WAISsuperior > normal on WAIS– slight deviations from optimal slight deviations from optimal
health affect intelligencehealth affect intelligence
Hypertension (Wilkie et al., Hypertension (Wilkie et al., 1971)1971)
– WAIS administered twice over 10 WAIS administered twice over 10 years (Time 1: 60-69 years)years (Time 1: 60-69 years)
– Largest decline for those with high Largest decline for those with high blood pressure at first testingblood pressure at first testing
Sensory changes: e.g., hearing Sensory changes: e.g., hearing LossLoss
– correlates negatively with correlates negatively with intelligence (e.g., Baltes et al., intelligence (e.g., Baltes et al., 1997)1997)
– greater loss – poorer performance greater loss – poorer performance (esp. on information, vocabulary (esp. on information, vocabulary tests)tests)
– Why?Why?
Organic Brain Syndrome Organic Brain Syndrome (institutionalized with dementia)(institutionalized with dementia)
– decline greater than in healthydecline greater than in healthy
EducationEducation
(Birren & Morrison, 1961)(Birren & Morrison, 1961) Number of years correlated with Number of years correlated with
intellectual performance in later intellectual performance in later lifelife
““General Intelligence” related to General Intelligence” related to years of education (50% of years of education (50% of variance), and not strongly variance), and not strongly related to age (10% of variance)related to age (10% of variance)
Initial Level of AbilityInitial Level of Ability
No differential effects on rate of No differential effects on rate of intellectual decline with ageintellectual decline with age
Relative levels maintained Relative levels maintained across lifespanacross lifespan