PSY312H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13: Fluid And Crystallized Intelligence, Prentice Hall, Inductive Reasoning
Document Summary
Changes in mental abilities: cognitive aging research has focused on deficits while neglecting cognitive stability and gains, overall, the evidence supports an optimistic view of adult cognitive potential. Cohort effect: many early cross-sectional studied showed a peak in performance at age 35 followed by a steep drop into old age. In cross-sectional research, each new generation experienced better health and education than the one before it. The 5 factors that gained in early and middle adulthood verbal ability, inductive reasoning, verbal memory, spatial orientation, and numeric ability include both crystalized and fluid skills. According to these findings, middle-aged adults are intellectually in their prime . Perceptual speed decreased from the twenties to the late eighties a pattern that fits with a wealth of research indicating that cognitive processing slows as people get older. Fluid factors (spatial orientation, numeric ability, and perceptual speed) show greater decrements than crystallized factors (verbal ability, inductive reasoning, and verbal memory)
