Workshop on Aging Research APS (May, 2008) Timothy Salthouse Brown-Forman Professor of Psychology University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA Consensus and Controversies in Aging Cognition

Outline Consensus: Increased age is associated with lower levels of performance on many different cognitive variables Controversies: How many explanations (and interventions) will be required? How can we avoid rediscovering the same phenomena?

___ G-B-F-C-E ___ Raven’s Progressive Matrices Which pattern in the bottom is the best completion of the missing cell? Series Completion Which item is the best continuation of the sequence? Recall Remember lists of unrelated words Frog Arch Dart Hoop Neck Trap Boot Gold Fish Moon Wool Clam Paired Associates Remember pairs of unrelated words rabbit – church desk – friend paper – truck snake – house horse – chair dragon – library Memory Reasoning

Spatial Visualization Perceptual Speed Paper Folding Which pattern of holes would result from the sequence of folds and hole location? Spatial Relations Which 3-D structure corresponds to the 2-D pattern? Digit Symbol Write the symbols associated with each digit in the empty boxes Pattern Comparison Write the letter “S” next to pairs that are the same, and the letter “D” next to pairs that are different Vocabulary Provide the definition What does “profligate” mean? Antonym Which word means the opposite of somnolent? a.Solvent b.Tranquil c.Energetic d.profitable

Cognition vs. Personality Traits

Cognition vs. Negative Affect

Age Consensus: Increased age is associated with lower levels of many cognitive variables

Are the age-related influences on different cognitive variables independent of one another? Cross-sectional – moderate to large reduction of the age-related variance in one variable (e.g., V2) after control of the variance in another variable (e.g., V1) Longitudinal – moderate correlations between measures of change in two variables (e.g., ∆V1 correlated with ∆V2) Controversy # 1: How many explanations (and interventions) will be required?

Age Relatively small number of general influences? But very unlikely that every cognitive variable requires a separate explanation! Number of independent age-related influences still not known

How can we ensure that the results with new variables are not merely additional manifestations of what is already known? Controversy # 2: How can we avoid rediscovering the same phenomena?

Interpret results of new variables in the context of what has already been established – Contextual Analysis Age Target Variable Voc Reas Space Mem Speed Context Controversy # 2: How can we avoid rediscovering the same phenomena?

Synonym Vocabulary Antonym Vocabulary WAIS Vocabulary WJ Picture Vocabulary Ravens Shipley Abstraction Letter Sets Spatial Relations Paper Folding Form Boards Free Recall Paired Associates Logical Memory Letter Comparison Pattern Comparison Digit Symbol Voc Gf Mem Speed Age Age-related influences on cognitive abilities are well-established

Synonym Vocabulary Antonym Vocabulary WAIS Vocabulary WJ Picture Vocabulary Ravens Shipley Abstraction Letter Sets Spatial Relations Paper Folding Form Boards Free Recall Paired Associates Logical Memory Letter Comparison Pattern Comparison Digit Symbol Voc Gf Mem Speed Target Variable Age Ignoring these other influences does not mean that they are not operating

Synonym Vocabulary Antonym Vocabulary WAIS Vocabulary WJ Picture Vocabulary Ravens Shipley Abstraction Letter Sets Spatial Relations Paper Folding Form Boards Free Recall Paired Associates Logical Memory Letter Comparison Pattern Comparison Digit Symbol Voc Gf Mem Speed Target Variable Age Unique Age Relation Unique age relations by definition represent something distinct from what is already known

Standardized Regression Coefficients Variable Total Unique Gf Mem Speed Voc Age Simple correlation with age Semi-partial correlation with age, independent of influences of the cognitive abilities Relative influence of each cognitive ability Contextual analysis is also informative about what variables represent Cognitive Abilities

Standardized Regression Coefficients PROSPECTIVE MEMORY Red Pencil -.40* * Drawing Classification -.29* * Concept Identification -.21* Running Memory -.32* * SOURCE MEMORY Word Color -.24*.09.35*.37* Picture Location -.50* * Command Source -.58* *.47* * Fact Voice -.26* * Variable Total Unique Gf Mem Speed Voc All significant None significant Age Cognitive Abilities

Standardized Regression Coefficients EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING WCST (# categories) -.30* WCST (# categories) -.32* * Tower of Hanoi -.29*.08.40*.34* Category Fluency -.19* *.26* Category Fluency -.21* *.55*.08 Category Fluency -.20* *.37*.26* Figural Fluency -.41*.07.46*.03.38*-.09 Variable Total Unique Gf Mem Speed Voc All significant None significant Age Cognitive Abilities

Outline Consensus: Increased age is associated with lower levels of performance on many different cognitive variables Controversies: How many explanations (and interventions) will be required? How can we avoid rediscovering the same phenomena? Recommendation: Obtain multiple cognitive variables from all participants

Obtain multiple variables from each participant 1) Helps characterize the sample Can use norms from standardized tests to estimate the representativeness of the sample 2) Can use as additional predictors to investigate the independence of age-related influences: - how many explanations will be required - ensure cumulative progress