Download Life span chapter 9-2 File

Intelligence
Memory
Intelligence
True or False?
Researchers no longer see cognitive abilities
of older people as inevitably declining
Intelligence in Older People
Older research studies and findings
• Notion that older people become less cognitively
adept initially arose from misinterpretations of
research evidence
Problems
• Cohort effects
• Reaction time components
• Retesting effects
• Subject attrition
Recent Conclusions about Nature of
Intelligence in Older People
Schaie: Sequential methods
• Some abilities gradually decline; others stay
relatively steady
• On average, some cognitive declines are found in
all abilities by age 67, but they are minimal until
the 80s
• There are also significant individual differences
• No uniform pattern of age-related changes across
all intellectual abilities
• Environmental and cultural factors play a role
Changes in Intellectual Functioning
Although some intellectual abilities decline across adulthood, others
stay relatively steady.
Environmental Factors
• Certain environmental and cultural factors
are related to greater or lesser degrees of
intellectual decline
• Lesser declines are associated with many
factors
Although some intellectual abilities gradually
decline throughout adulthood, starting at around
age 25, others stay relatively steady.
For example, research shows that while fluid
intelligence declines with age, crystallized
intelligence remains steady, and may even
improve, in late adulthood.
The intellect retains considerable plasticity and
can be maintained with stimulation, practice, and
motivation.
One problem with conducting cross-sectional
research on aging and cognition is that this
method does not take into consideration
___________, the influences attributable to
growing up in a particular era.
a. genetic effects
b. environmental effects
c. cohort effects
d. religious effects
Based on the sequential study of aging and
cognition conducted by Schaie (1994), there is
no uniform pattern in adulthood of age-related
change across all intellectual abilities.
• True
• False
Not all developmentalists believe in the “use it
or lose it” hypothesis. For example, Salthouse
suggests that the rate of true, underlying
cognitive decline in late adulthood is
unaffected by mental exercise, and the lack of
decline is a function of a larger cognitive
reserve.
• True
• False
Do you think steady or increasing crystallized
intelligence can partially or fully compensate
for declines in fluid intelligence? Why or why
not?
Memory
Memory: Remembrance of Things Past –
and Present
Episodic memory
Semantic memory Short-term memory
Decline and
Stability
•
Age-related
memory declines
are limited primarily
to episodic
memories
•
Semantic
memories and
implicit memories
are largely
unaffected by age
Memory loss is not as common
among Chinese elderly as it is in the
West. What are some factors that
contribute to cultural differences in
memory loss of the elderly?
Autobiographical Memory: Recalling the
Days of Our Lives
Autobiographical memory
– Pollyanna principle
– Recall of material that "fits" current self-view
– Particular periods of life are remembered more
easily than others
Remembrances
of Things Past
•
Recall of
autobiographical
memories varies with
age, with 70-year-olds
recalling details from
their 20s and 30s best,
and 50-year-olds
recalling memories
from their teenage
years and 20s.
•
People of both ages
also recall more recent
memories best of all.
Source: Rubin, 1986
Explaining Memory Changes in Old Age
Explanations for apparent changes in
memory among older people tend to
focus on three main categories
• Environmental factors
• Information processing deficits
• Biological factors
Environmental Factors
• Certain environmental and cultural factors
are related to greater or lesser degrees of
intellectual decline
• Lesser declines are associated with many
factors
Information-Processing Deficits
• Inability to inhibit irrelevant information
and thoughts declines
• Speed of processing declines
• Attention declines
• Less efficient retrieval methods
Biological Factors
Brain and body deterioration
• Especially frontal lobes
• Some studies also show deterioration of
hippocampus
It’s Never Too Late…
Continuation of education in old age can
improve cognitive skills
• Intellectual growth and change continue
throughout people’s lives
• Older adults often have no trouble maintaining
their standing in rigorous college classes
Logging on Late in Life
• One of the biggest
generational divides involves
the use of technology.
• People 65 and older are far
less likely to use technology
than younger individuals.
• They are less interested and
motivated because less likely
to be working or need
technology for job.
Declines in memory affect mainly episodic
memories and short-term memory.
Explanations of memory changes in old age
have focused on environmental factors,
information processing declines, and
biological factors.
When it comes to autobiographical memories,
older individuals, like younger individuals,
follow the ______________, in that they are
more likely to remember pleasant memories.
a. saliency effect
b. environmental effect
c. Pollyanna principle
d. positive effect
Explanations for changes in memory tend to
focus on three main categories: environmental
factors, biological factors, and ____________.
a. social support
b. life changes
c. information processing deficits
d. personal influences
Despite concerns about memory and
intellectual capabilities, older adults have no
trouble maintaining their standing in rigorous
college classes.
• True
• False
How might cultural factors, such as the
esteem in which a society holds its older
members, work to affect an older person’s
memory performance?