Cognitive Changes, Intelligence, and Wisdom - Part 1

Definition of cognition

Thinking and other mental processes, including attention, memory, language processing, decision-making, problem-solving, and intelligence.

Social cognition

Encompasses attitudes, attributions, and group dynamics, including ageism and age stereotypes.

Applied reasons for studying cognitive aging

Distinguishing normal aging from dementia, understanding societal impacts of an aging population, and evaluating older adults' driving abilities.

Theoretical reasons for studying cognitive aging

Research on young university students cannot fully explain cognition; studying changes across the lifespan helps us understand cognition itself.

Three assumptions of the information-processing model

1) People are active participants, 2) Both quantitative and qualitative aspects can be studied, 3) Information moves through hypothetical stages or stores.

Sensory store

The initial storage where incoming sensory information is registered; has a large capacity and depends on attention.

Working memory

A limited-capacity system (~7 chunks) where conscious mental activity occurs, involving storage, processing, and coordination.

Baddeley's model of working memory components

Phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer, and the central executive (the most vulnerable to age-related decline).

Computational-span task

A measure of working memory requiring a person to process information (e.g., solve math) while simultaneously storing information (e.g., remembering numbers).

Explicit vs. implicit memory

Explicit memory involves deliberate, conscious retrieval, whereas implicit memory involves using stored knowledge without conscious awareness.

Episodic memory

Memory for information from a specific event or time, functioning like a personal diary.

Semantic memory

Memory for facts, concepts, and word meanings, functioning like an internal encyclopedia or dictionary.

Procedural memory

Memory used unconsciously for motor skills and familiar procedures, such as swimming or performing a golf swing.

Positivity effect in older adults

Older adults' relative preference for positive rather than negative material during cognitive processing compared to younger adults.

Hypothesis 1: Working Memory Capacity Hypothesis

Proposes that cognitive performance declines with age because working-memory capacity decreases.

Hypothesis 2: Speed Deficit Hypothesis

Proposed by Salthouse; cognitive performance declines with age because processing speed (psychomotor speed) decreases.

Limited-time and simultaneity mechanisms

Salthouse's mechanisms explaining how slow processing restricts time for later operations or causes earlier information to fade before integration.

Hypothesis 3: Inhibitory Deficit Hypothesis

Proposed by Hasher and Zacks; cognitive performance declines because inhibitory efficiency decreases, leading to mental clutter in working memory.

Hypothesis 4: Sensory Deficit Hypothesis

Proposes that sensory processing declines with age, forcing more attentional resources to be allocated to detecting signals rather than higher-order cognition.

Hypothesis 5: Social-Cognitive Basis of Aging

Proposes that internalizing negative old-age stereotypes can compromise cognitive performance.

Multifaceted age stereotypes

Society holds various categories of age stereotypes, such as the senior citizen, perfect grandmother, elder statesman, golden ager, and shrew/curmudgeon.

Becca Levy's findings on age stereotypes

Older adults with more negative views about aging show worse cardiovascular health, hearing, memory, and die sooner.

Lifespan framework of age stereotypes

Children know stereotypes but view them as 'not old'; adults apply them to others as self-fulfilling prophecies; older adults internalize them and become 'boxed in'.

Kwong See et al. (2012) Piagetian conservation task study

Found that 5-year-olds' answers on number conservation changed depending on the perceived age and competence of the questioner (e.g., Grandma Mary vs. teacher).

Age-based double standard

Occurs when an older person's memory failure is considered more serious (e.g., indicating dementia) than the exact same failure in a younger adult.

Elderspeak (Patronizing talk)

An exaggerated or infantilizing style of speaking to older adults (slow speech, high pitch, simple vocabulary) based on automatic stereotypes.

Kwong See, Hoffman, and Wood (2011) eyewitness study

Found an age-based double standard where younger witnesses were more believed despite older witnesses being rated as more honest.

Stereotype threat

The evoked fear of being judged in accordance with a negative stereotype about a group to which you belong, which can consume cognitive resources and reduce performance.

Stereotype lift

Occurs when members of a comparatively advantaged group perform better after a negative stereotype about another group is activated.

Levy (1996) subliminal priming study

Demonstrated that older adults exposed to subliminal negative age primes performed worse on memory tests, while positive primes improved performance.