Attempts to isolate lexical access latencies by measuring word-naming times in two conditions: (1) words were preidentified and had only to be pronounced on signal; (2) words had to be both identified and pronounced. Results strengthen the conclusion that vocal programing is exempt from the age declines seen in other sensory-motor tracts.…

Effects of advanced aging on hemispheric organization for linguistic processing was investigated with 24 geriatric subjects. Findings indicated that only the left hemisphere was used in language processing, suggesting that right hemispheric language processing ability is inhibited in the elderly. (Author/DB)

An error-detection paradigm was used to examine the ability of young and old adults of varying educational levels to comprehend texts. Results indicated that young and old adults were equally able to detect textual inconsistencies; however, better educated adults detected more inconsistencies than less educated adults. (Author/RH)

Using data collected through telephone interviews with a national sample of adults, this study searched for evidence as to whether interviewers have stronger effects on the responses given to a wide range of questions by older people than on the responses of younger people. Responses to 30 items for which significant interviewer effects had…

Older adults are significantly slower than young adults in the naming response in the Stroop Color Word Interference Test. Hypotheses attempting to explain this age-related difference in a perceptual-cognitive task have included orthogenic principle, response-competition, and cautiousness. This study examines whether there are any significant…

Age-related deficits may exist in episodic memory (knowledge of the context in which an item appeared previously) and semantic memory (knowledge of an item's meaning independent of the context). In order to examine adult age differences in semantic priming effects and subsequent episodic retention for visually presented words, 24 young (18-22…

A study conducted in England (Goebel, 1982) showed that older English adults preferred middle-aged and older persons over young persons in important relationships. Since research has shown Americans to have negative attitudes toward the elderly, it was hypothesized that older Americans might not share the English sample's preferences. To examine…

Recent theories in cognitive psychology have emphasized the role of capacity requirements in encoding tasks. To examine the notion that age-related differences in the recall performance reflect differences in cognitive capacity, 80 adults (40 undergraduates, and 40 senior citizens) recalled newspaper advertisements under free recall and cued…

While research has examined both life satisfaction and intellectual functioning of older adults, the relationship between these two dimensions has been investigated very little. A study was conducted to explore continuity in intellectual functioning over time in advanced old age, continuity in life satisfaction during the same period, the…

World knowledge is defined as information that is acquired by adults from life experiences. To investigate question answering processes involving world knowledge systems, 120 young, middle-aged and older adults were given questions intended to induce either fact retrieval or inferential reasoning. Multiple-choice and true/false formats were used.…

The paper reports results of one project from the National Institute of Mental Health Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) Program: the Duke ECA study (also known as the Piedmont Health Survey). To determine if depressive symptoms are different in the depressed elderly, 46 community subjects, over 60 years of age with a current diagnosis of…

Some research suggests that age differences in memory may result from older adults' difficulty in activating preexisting semantic structures. A study was conducted to examine whether older adults could use experimenter-provided elaborators which facilitate memory, or could generate their own elaborators, and to rate the quality of elaborators…

Responses from 125 Black and 130 White children identified three subdimensions (personality characteristics, affective relations, physical abilities) in an index measuring children's perceptions of aging. Findings indicated that children did not differ significantly by race or age on any of the three dimensions. (NRB)

ApoE gene polymorphism was examined in 100 adults with Down syndrome with and without dementia (Alzheimer's disease) and 346 control subjects. Additionally, a meta analysis of studies (total N=480 subjects) was performed. Results indicated a similar incidence of the gene across groups but subjects with the allele tended to an earlier onset of…

Traditional stereotypes and attitudes about the elderly are of interest to both researchers and health care providers. Misconceptions about the elderly and the sources of these misconceptions were examined in undergraduates (N=150) and in elderly subjects (N=50). Subjects completed the Miller-Dodder revision of Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz One…