Older subjects responded slower than younger subjects on a spatial task which required them to rotate mentally a perspectively drawn figure in order to judge whether it was congruent with a second figure. (Author)

Male extended-care patients (N=81) relocated due to planned demolition of the building in which their ward was located were followed for 21 months in an effort to examine the influence of relocation on mortality. Results show no increased mortality thus suggesting the degree of environmental change may be important. Paper presented at Canadian…

The performance of 60 elderly volunteers on two cancellation tasks was examined under one of three experimental conditions: social praise, social reproof, or no comment. The clear implications from these data are that social incentives may well facilitate behavioral change in the aged. (Author)

Multiple pathology, a common phenomenon among elderly, fosters the practice of multiple drug therapy, which is particularly hazardous for this age grouping. The total drug exposure of two typical elderly persons, one institutionalized and one living at home, were analyzed. Potentially harmful drug interactions were discerned in both cases. (Author)

The purpose was to investigate effects of fatigue on intelligence test performance in the elderly. Fatigue effects were investigated by varying number of previous tests, by introducing breaks, and by using a pre-test fatigue-producing condition. The elderly are not as susceptible to test fatigue as previous results suggested. (Author)

Serial rote learning was examined as a function of sex, verbal ability, and stimulus presentation rate among 64 individuals aged 60-79 years. At the fast pacing speed, the men with average verbal skills produced fewer responses and performed less well than their female counterparts. (Author)

The relationships between somatic and sociological-psychological variables are complex. Each mental change which occurs in aging is more or less closely accompanied by somatic changes. The reverse is also true. The objective state of health and the subjective feeling of well-being are linked. Both can exert an influence over behavior and…

The Sheltered Care Environment Scale (SCES) measures the social environment of sheltered care settings, as perceived by residents and staff. This instrument was developed and tested in a sample of 40 facilities representing the breadth and variety of currently existing congregate housing for the elderly. (Author)

Matching accuracy and strategy utilization in young, middle-aged, and elderly adults was examined in a series of intramodal, haptic match-to-standard problems. Results indicated that elderly adults were less successful in solving the haptic problems. They also displayed less systematic and logical haptic search strategies. (Author)

Reality Orientation (RO) Therapy, a recently developed mode of treatment for use with geriatric patients was discussed. A controlled study was conducted comparing the effects of RO with those of traditional hospital care. The results indicated that RO is a promising technique for use with a chronic geriatric patient population. (Author)

A country, case-descriptive methodology was employed in a cross-national study of social service systems. The major findings with regard to the aged are: (1) countries must establish a firm infrastructure of basic social provision for community services to function adequately and: (2) a common core of "personal social services" is emerging…

The authors tested the discriminative effectiveness of two psychiatric screening instruments for a gerontological population. Results show that while one scale was more correct in identifying the impaired group, the second was more correct in identifying the unimpaired subjects. (SE)

The relationships between mild hearing losses and cognitive functioning were studied for two samples of aged subjects whose hearing was within normal limits. Hearing losses at various frequency levels were correlated with performance on cognitive tests. Results reveal substantial associations between hearing losses and scores on the intellectual…

The view is presented that the kinds of dependent behavior elicited in an institutional setting can be avoided by modifying architectural concepts. Among the findings, which may influence institutional architecture, services, and programs, it was ascertained that the configuration of residence corridors is critical. (Author)

Widows and widowers, grouped by whether their spouse died of short-term or chronic illness, were compared on three criteria of medical adjustment. (Author/EJT)