Elderly people show preservation, or even enhancement, of data-driven control but loss of memory-driven control of selective attention. As people grow older they become more labile and more subject to control by external events. Old subjects remember, analyse, and employ smaller samples of the recent past. (Author)

Compared 12 old and 12 young adults in two information-processing tasks (a rotated figures task and a sentence verification task). The age difference was minimized when older adults adopted strategies that reduced processing. They were more disadvantaged when employing strategies that imposed greater processing demands or memory load. (JAC)

Reports problems connected with retrospective life span interviews of Australian older adults (N=204). Sources of bias arising from interview situations and interviewer/respondent interactions are discussed. Results suggest retrospective analysis deserves respect for factual potential. Gerontology research must also respect the integrity of the…

The new scale was a better predictor of "avowed happiness" in both validation and cross-validation samples than the existing scales used for comparison. Moreover, the new scale's test-retest reliability was within an acceptable range for this type of scale. (Author)

Compared the performance of institutionalized and noninstitutionalized older adults in five negative transfer studies. Results showed that, in general, the performance of institutionalized old people resembled that of brain-damaged amnesic patients tested under similar conditions; old people living at home generally behaved more like normal, young…

Older Japanese adults had a positive family image and more positive perceptions of their present selves. Younger adults were more positive towards friends and future self-image. Women had consistantly better self-concepts. Both groups were negative toward aging but positive toward the aged. (Author/JAC)

Investigated the hypothesis that age deficits in long-term episodic memory tasks are due to impaired metamemorial skills. Both young and old adults were able to predict their ability to recall. Concluded that differences in metamemorial skills are not responsible for age differences in memory. (Author)

Studied the stability of happiness for rural, urban, and institutionalized Canadian older adults (N=600). For urban and institutionalized persons housing satisfaction was the main predictor; for rural individuals, health and marital status remained consistent predictors. Results showed that although predictors differ, happiness remains stable in…

Studied feelings of loneliness in relation to disease, handicaps, social network and social background in (N=1,007) 70-year-old people in Sweden. Loneliness was a problem to 24% of women and 12% of men. Most important factors related to loneliness were loss of spouse, depression of mood, and lack of friends. (Author)

Assessed the stereotypes of groups identified by age and either by sex, occupation, or ethnicity in samples of college students and elderly persons. Findings indicate both groups of observers stereotyped young mature adults in terms of a variety of features but stereotyped old people mainly in terms of age. (Author)