Age and cognitive functioning

Abstract

Ageing and cognitive functioning: an overview Attitudes about ageing reflect many negative stereotypes about the intellectual prowess of our senior citizens (Center for the Advancement of Health, 1998). Are older people as cognitively deficient as is commonly assumed? Are they significantly less capable than middle-aged or younger adults of profiting from classroom instruction, solving everyday problems such as remembering to turn off the oven after removing a roast, or learning to operate such new technologies as computers, DVD players, or ATM machines? Study of the abilities to learn, remember, and solve problems has a long history in psychology and is arguably the most thoroughly investigated aspect of adult development and ageing (Siegelman & Rider, 2003). One reason for this emphasis is that cognitive functioning in adulthood has so many important implications for the quality of ordinary people's lives. Furthermore, cognitive functioning can play a major role in how people feel about themselves as they age. Middle-aged adults occasionally claim that they have experienced a ‘senior moment’ after forgetting someone's name, their own telephone number, or a step in a well practiced procedure such as recording a programme on their VCR. Although such comments may be offered in a humorous light, they also may reflect a deep-seated concern that many middle-aged and older adults have about losing their memories (Whitbourne, 2005) (see ‘Dementias’). Indeed, older adults have reasons for suspecting that their cognitive powers are declining.

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