Differentiation of cognitive abilities across the life span.

Existing representations of cognitive ability structure are exclusively based on linear patterns of interrelations. However, a number of developmental and cognitive theories predict that abilities are differentially related across ages (age differentiation–dedifferentiation) and across levels of functioning (ability differentiation). Nonlinear factor analytic models were applied to multivariate cognitive ability data from 6,273 individuals, ages 4 to 101 years, who were selected to be nationally representative of the U.S. population. Results consistently supported ability differentiation but were less clear with respect to age differentiation–dedifferentiation. Little evidence for age modification of ability differentiation was found. These findings are particularly informative about the nature of individual differences in cognition and about the developmental course of cognitive ability level and structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structural invariance of cognitive abilities across the adult life span: A cross-sectional study.

This study examined the hypothesis that psychometric tests retain equivalent factor structures across samples widely differing in age. We estimated a best-fitting measurement model for 17 psychometric tests covering the 5 primary abilities of Inductive Reasoning, Spatial Orientation, Verbal Ability, Numerical Ability, and Perceptual Speed, using a sample of 1,621 participants (ages 22 to 95) from the 5th wave of the Seattle Longitudinal Study. We disaggregated the participants into 9 subsets (M ages?=?29, 39, 46, 53, 60, 67, 74, 81, and 90) and tesed the fit of the accepted model for each subset. We confirmed configural invariance for all subsets, but could not establish either complete or incomplete metric invariance for any set. These results confirm the stability of factor patterns across age but indicate serious limitations for valid cross-age comparisons of individual markers of psychometric abilities in age-comparative studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of working memory abilities across the adult life span.

The present study addresses three questions regarding age differences in working memory: (1) whether performance on complex span tasks decreases as a function of age at a faster rate than performance on simple span tasks; (2) whether spatial working memory decreases at a faster rate than verbal working memory; and (3) whether the structure of working memory abilities is different for different age groups. Adults, ages 20–89 (n = 388), performed three simple and three complex verbal span tasks and three simple and three complex spatial memory tasks. Performance on the spatial tasks decreased at faster rates as a function of age than performance on the verbal tasks, but within each domain, performance on complex and simple span tasks decreased at the same rates. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that domain-differentiated models yielded better fits than models involving domain-general constructs, providing further evidence of the need to distinguish verbal and spatial working memory abilities. Regardless of which domain-differentiated model was examined, and despite the faster rates of decrease in the spatial domain, age group comparisons revealed that the factor structure of working memory abilities was highly similar in younger and older adults and showed no evidence of age-related dedifferentiation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shared age-related influences on cognitive and noncognitive variables

Analyses of new data and of previously published data were conducted to examine the degree to which age-related variance was shared across cognitive and noncognitive variables and to investigate possible alterations in the composition of a factor common to all variables as a function of age. The results indicated that measures of visual acuity, grip strength, and blood pressure shared age-related variance with measures of perceptual speed, episodic memory, spatial visualization, and inductive reasoning. However, although the cognitive variables shared similar amounts of variance in age-restricted and age-partialed analyses, the variance shared between cognitive and noncognitive variables was substantially reduced after controlling the influence of age.     

Global self-esteem across the life span.

This study provides a comprehensive picture of age differences in self-esteem from age 9 to 90 years using cross-sectional data collected from 326,641 individuals over the Internet. Self-esteem levels were high in childhood, dropped during adolescence, rose gradually throughout adulthood, and declined sharply in old age. This trajectory generally held across gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and nationality (U.S. citizens vs. non-U.S. citizens). Overall, these findings support previous research, help clarify inconsistencies in the literature, and document new trends that require further investigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability of self-esteem across the life span.

Two studies examined the rank-order stability of self-esteem from age 6 to 83: Study 1 was a meta-analysis of 50 published articles (N = 29,839) and Study 2 analyzed data from 4 large national studies (N = 74,381). Self-esteem showed substantial continuity over time (disattenuated correlations ranged from the .50s to .70s), comparable to the stability found for personality traits. Both studies provided evidence for a robust developmental trend: Self-esteem stability was low during childhood, increased throughout adolescence and young adulthood, and declined during midlife and old age. This trend could not be explained by age differences in the reliability of self-esteem measures, and generally replicated across gender, ethnicity, self-esteem scale, nationality (U.S. vs. non-U.S.), and year of publication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Representations of self across the life span.

This research extends a cognitive-developmental approach to examining age differences in self-representation from adolescence to mature adulthood and later life. The authors suggest that mature adults move from representations of self that are relatively poorly differentiated from others or social conventions to ones that involve emphasis on process, context, and individuality. Participants (n men?=?73, n women?=?76), ranging in age from 11 to 85 years, provided spontaneous accounts of their self-representations and responded to measures assessing cognitive and emotional functioning and broad dimensions of personality. On average, self-representation scores peaked in middle-aged adults and were lowest in the preadolescent and older adult age groups. Level of self-representation was related to cognitive and personality variables, but there was some evidence that the pattern of correlates shifted from younger (ages 15–45) to older (ages 46–85) age segments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seven questions about the WAIS-III regarding differences in abilities across the 16 to 89 year life span.

Data from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Third Edition (WAIS—III) manual and data provided by the test publisher were analyzed to address 7 questions about differences in human cognitive abilities as they are measured by the WAIS—III across the 16–89 year age span. Educational attainment was controlled to remove 1 of the main contaminants in the interpretation of cross-sectional data across a wide age span. All 7 questions were of a practical, clinical nature, although the answers were usually relevant to Horn's Gf-Gc theory. Questions concerned the validity of the norms for ages 16–19 years, differences in the age-by-age patterns of scores on the 4 Factor Indexes, and differences in the age-by-age patterns of scaled scored on the subtests composing each Index. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional reactivity across the adult life span: The cognitive pragmatics make a difference.

Previously, we found that during films about age-typical losses, older adults experienced greater sadness than young adults, whereas their physiological responses were just as large. In the present study, our goal was to replicate this finding and extend past work by examining the role of cognitive functioning in age differences in emotional reactivity. We measured the autonomic and subjective responses of 240 adults (age range = 20 to 70) while they viewed films about age-typical losses from our previous work. Findings were fully supportive of our past work: The magnitude of subjective reactions to our films increased linearly over the adult years, whereas there were no age differences on the level of physiological reactivity. We also found that the subjective reactions of adults with high pragmatic intelligence were of moderate size independent of their own age or the age relevance of the emotion elicitor. In contrast, the subjective reactions of adults low on pragmatic intelligence were more variable. Together, this evidence suggests that research on age differences in emotional reactivity may benefit from a perspective that considers individual difference variables as well as contextual variations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Everyday problem solving across the adult life span: influence of domain specificity and cognitive appraisal

Differences in problem-solving strategies for situations varying in three domains, consumer, home management, and conflict with friends, were examined among younger, middle-aged, and older adults. In addition, this study examined the influence of perceived ability to resolve the problem, controllability, and causal attributions on strategy selection. In the 2 instrumental domains, older adults were more problem focused in their approach than adolescents and younger adults, whereas adolescents and younger adults selected more passive-dependent strategies. In the more interpersonal domain, conflict with friends, older adults tended to select avoidant-denial strategies more so than younger adults. Finally, across domains, the greater the perceived ability to resolve a problem the less the avoidant-denial strategy was selected. The importance of distinguishing between social and instrumental problem solving and of examining the cognitive appraisal of a problem situation are discussed.     

Self-concept differentiation across the adult life span.

This study used 2 measures to examine 158 adults' (80 men, 78 women; ages 20 to 88 years) self-concept differentiation (SCD) across 5 role-specific self-representations. Findings revealed that the 2 measures did not assess SCD in similar ways and that they showed different associations with age. Specifically, the 1st measure was not significantly related to age, whereas the 2nd measure showed a curvilinear, U-shaped association with age. The 2nd SCD index also showed significant associations with several measures of emotional adjustment and 6 dimensions of psychological well-being. Additional analyses showed that age moderated the associations between SCD and positive and negative psychological well-being. A high level of SCD was associated with lower positive and higher negative psychological well-being for both young and older adults. However, this effect was significantly more pronounced in older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of inhibitory control across the life span.

The stop-signal procedure was used to examine the development of inhibitory control. A group of 275 participants, 6 to 81 years of age, performed a visual choice reaction time (go) task and attempted to inhibit their responses to the go task when they heard a stop signal. Reaction times to the stop and go signals were used to assess performance in inhibition and response execution, respectively. Results indicated the speed of stopping becomes faster with increasing age throughout childhood, with limited evidence of slowing across adulthood. By contrast, strong evidence was obtained for age-related speeding of go-signal reaction time throughout childhood, followed by marked slowing throughout adulthood. Hierarchical regression confirmed that the age-related change in inhibitory control could not be explained by general speeding or slowing of responses. Findings are discussed in regard to the contrast between the development of inhibition and response execution and the utility of the stop-signal procedure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impressions of babyfaced individuals across the life span.

Four questions were addressed concerning perceptions of babyfaced individuals from infancy to older adulthood: (1) Do perceivers make reliable babyface judgments at each age; (2) does a babyface have the same effects on trait impressions at each age; (3) are the effects of a babyface independent of the effects of attractiveness; and (4) what facial maturity features are associated with babyface ratings, and do these features predict trait impressions? Ratings of portrait photographs revealed that perceivers reliably detect variations in babyfaceness across the life span. Facial measurements revealed that large eyes, a round face, thin eyebrows, and a small nose bridge characterized a babyface. Trait impressions showed a babyface overgeneralization effect at each age: Babyfaced individuals were perceived to have more childlike traits than their maturefaced peers, and this effect was independent of attractiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of personality change across the life span.

Six aspects of personality were examined for a sample of 211 individuals across either a 30- or 40-year time span. Latent curve analyses found an underlying pattern of lifetime change for self-confidence, cognitive commitment, outgoingness, and dependability. An underlying pattern of lifetime stability was found for assertiveness. No shared systematic underlying pattern could be fit to individuals' lifetime trajectories for warmth. Although individuals shared a single underlying pattern of change or stability for 5 of the 6 dimensions of personality considered here, they also showed differences in the degree and direction of personality change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional experience in everyday life across the adult life span.

Age differences in emotional experience over the adult life span were explored, focusing on the frequency, intensity, complexity, and consistency of emotional experience in everyday life. One hundred eighty-four people, age 18 to 94 years, participated in an experience-sampling procedure in which emotions were recorded across a 1-week period. Age was unrelated to frequency of positive emotional experience. A curvilinear relationship best characterized negative emotional experience. Negative emotions declined in frequency until approximately age 60, at which point the decline ceased. Individual factor analyses computed for each participant revealed that age was associated with more differentiated emotional experience. In addition, periods of highly positive emotional experience were more likely to endure among older people and periods of highly negative emotional experience were less stable. Findings are interpreted within the theoretical framework of socioemotional selectivity theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and obesity across the adult life span.

Personality traits contribute to health outcomes, in part through their association with major controllable risk factors, such as obesity. Body weight, in turn, reflects our behaviors and lifestyle and contributes to the way we perceive ourselves and others. In this study, the authors use data from a large (N = 1,988) longitudinal study that spanned more than 50 years to examine how personality traits are associated with multiple measures of adiposity and with fluctuations in body mass index (BMI). Using 14,531 anthropometric assessments, the authors modeled the trajectory of BMI across adulthood and tested whether personality predicted its rate of change. Measured concurrently, participants higher on Neuroticism or Extraversion or lower on Conscientiousness had higher BMI; these associations replicated across body fat, waist, and hip circumference. The strongest association was found for the impulsivity facet: Participants who scored in the top 10% of impulsivity weighed, on average, 11Kg more than those in the bottom 10%. Longitudinally, high Neuroticism and low Conscientiousness, and the facets of these traits related to difficulty with impulse control, were associated with weight fluctuations, measured as the variability in weight over time. Finally, low Agreeableness and impulsivity-related traits predicted a greater increase in BMI across the adult life span. BMI was mostly unrelated to change in personality traits. Personality traits are defined by cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns that likely contribute to unhealthy weight and difficulties with weight management. Such associations may elucidate the role of personality traits in disease progression and may help to design more effective interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Egocentrism and social interaction across the life span.

Uses a life-span framework to organize and interpret existing theory and data pertaining to the concept of egocentrism. Review indicates that most research and theorization on egocentrism are concerned with only the infancy and childhood periods of life, although some theorization has concerned the adolescent period. Essentially none of the existing literature pertaining to the major portion of the life span, adulthood and senescence, is directly related to the concept of the egocentrism. However, the notions of rigidity and regression and the process of psychosocial disengagement, all of which have been traditionally identified with the aging process, are reinterpreted as either manifestations of or contributors to increasing egocentricity in later life. Several areas of pertinent research are identified. (119 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The salience of emotion across the adult life span.

Recent research on emotion has rendered equivocal traditional views of diminished emotionality in late life. This study focused on the salience of emotion in 83 Ss aged 20–83 yrs. Using an incidental memory paradigm, Ss read a narrative containing equivalent amounts of emotional and neutral information. Salience was measured by the proportion of emotional versus neutral phrases recalled at the end of a 1-hr experimental session. Contrary to models of diminished emotionality, results suggest that the relative salience of emotion increases linearly with age and cohort. Results are discussed within the framework of cognitive theories of adult development and socioemotional selectivity theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mediators of long-term memory performance across the life span.

An individual-differences approach was used to examine the component processes that predict episodic long-term memory performance. A total of 301 participants ages 20-90 received a 7-hr cognitive battery across 3 days. Key constructs hypothesized to affect long-term memory function were assessed, including multiple measures of working memory and perceptual speed. Latent-construct, structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship of these measures and age to different types of long-term memory tasks. Speed was a key construct for all 3 types of memory tasks, mediating substantial age-related variance; working memory was a fundamental construct for free and cued recall but not spatial memory. The data suggest that both speed and working memory are fundamental to explaining age-related changes in cognitive aging but that the relative contributions of these constructs vary as a function of the type of memory task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)