| Abstract: | Reviews the literature in the areas of perception, memory, learning, motor skills, intelligence, neural activity, and personality. General support is given to the proposition that advancing age is accompanied by a decrease in the speed with which the central nervous system processes information. This principle is considered manifest in the observation that individuals tend to show a slowness in response as they become older. It is argued that whereas speed of behavior in the young adult may be regarded as a performance-related dependent variable, in the case of the aging individual it should be regarded as an independent variable with which to interpret all phenomena considered important in behavior. Factors which qualify the principle are discussed, together with its implications for accident-prone behavior in the aged. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
