Aging and Intelligence

10 Questions

What is the primary reason for the discrepancy in the age of intelligence decline reported in early and later studies?

Cohort effects

Which type of intelligence is most resistant to decline with age?

Crystallized intelligence

What is the most effective way to reverse declines in intellectual abilities?

Specific training for various abilities

What is the primary distinction made in the information-processing perspective of memory?

Between declarative and nondeclarative memory

What is the exception to the stability of semantic memory with age?

Recall of specific words or names

What is the component of memory that is relatively unaffected by age or injury?

Procedural memory

Which of the following is a strategy that can partially compensate for memory loss in older adults?

All of the above, including using external aids like lists and calendars

What is the term for the tendency of older adults to be more attentive to positive than negative events and emotions?

Positivity bias

What is the factor that plays a role in individual differences in cognitive aging, according to the text?

All of the above, including income history

What is the basis for older people's subjective evaluations of their cognitive abilities, according to the text?

Stereotypes of aging

Study Notes

IQ Scores and Age

Early studies showed a decline in intelligence starting in the 30s, but later longitudinal studies revealed a moderate decline starting in the 60s due to cohort effects.

Types of Intelligence

Fluid intelligence abilities decline starting in the 60s.
Crystallized intelligence abilities remain stable well into the 70s or 80s.

Reversing Declines

Declines in intellectual abilities can be reversed through specific training, physical exercise, and general test-taking training, with long-term effects.

Memory

Memory is divided into sensory store, short-term store, and long-term store, with declarative (explicit) memory and nondeclarative (procedural) memory.
Age-related declines are less for short-term memory than for working memory.
Long-term store includes episodic memory (information about recent events) and semantic memory (general factual information).
Episodic memory declines with age, while semantic memory is stable until the 70s.
Procedural memory (how to perform familiar tasks) is relatively unaffected by age or injury.
Older adults perform poorly on prospective memory tasks (remembering to do something in the future).

Compensating for Memory Loss

Memory loss can be partially compensated for by external aids (lists, calendars) and training (mental imagery, method of loci).

Contextual Perspective

Older people perform better on memory tests when tasks fit their cognitive styles, such as using emotional content or transmitting knowledge to the next generation.

Real-World Cognition

Older adults make good decisions and judgments in less time and using less information than younger people, drawing on their greater store of experience.
Older adults often show better decision-making skills than younger adults, especially with interpersonal problems.
Older adults tend to show a positivity bias, being more attentive to positive events and emotions.

Individual Differences

Individual differences in aging cognitive abilities are influenced by health, genes, education, and income history.
Mental and physical exercise can lead to better cognitive abilities in later years.

Subjective Evaluations

Older people's subjective evaluations of their cognitive abilities are based more on stereotypes of aging than on actual decline.