A M O'Hanlon | PubMed Health

PubMed1994

Perceived intellectual performance change over seven years.

Actual and perceived change in intellectual performance over seven years was examined in a sample of 837 participants in the Seattle Longitudinal Study who took five subtests of Thurstone's Primary Mental Abilities (PMA) test in 1977 and 1984. In 1984 participants rated perceived change in intellectual performance from 1977 to 1984. Participants were categorized, based on their actual performance, into those who maintained earlier performance level, significantly increased their performance, or declined in performance. A typology linking actual and perceived change in performance was created: Realists (those who accurately estimated change in their performance); Optimists (those who oveestimated positive change); and Pessimists (those who overestimated negative change). Classification of participants varied across abilities. Women were more likely to be pessimists on Spatial Orientation than men. Older individuals were more likely to be pessimists on Verbal Meaning and Inductive Reasoning Abilities and to be realists on Number ability compared to younger participants.

Adult↗

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Memory training in normal and demented elderly populations: the E-I-E-I-O model.

An heuristic classification scheme for memory interventions is described as a 2 x 2 matrix. One dimension of the matrix addresses the use of internal versus external mnemonics, and the other dimension addresses the use of explicit (effortful/conscious) versus implicit (automatic/unconscious) learning. Most attempts at memory interventions in normal older populations, such as the use of mental imagery, fall within the explicit-internal cell of the matrix and require expenditure of large amounts of cognitive effort. As a result, memory interventions in normal older populations, even when "successful," usually produce results that are limited in their generalization and are usually not maintained over time. Such interventions are rarely attempted in demented populations. Interventions are described that require less effort and are representative of other cells in the classification matrix. These may be more effective for demented and normal elders. Information acquired through these alternative means may eventually be stored internally and become consciously available, often producing an "O!" or "aha" experience when the individual realizes a shift to internal, consciously available storage has taken place.

Aged↗