COGNITIVE CONTROLS AND ADAPTATION IN THE AGED.
Item
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Title
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COGNITIVE CONTROLS AND ADAPTATION IN THE AGED.
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Identifier
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AAI8212187
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identifier
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8212187
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Creator
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CYCOWICZ, GISELLE.
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Contributor
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Edgar F. Borgatta
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Date
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1982
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Social
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Abstract
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This research was designed to (a) investigate cognitive controls in middle and old age and (b) study the adaptive significance of cognitive controls as personality factors influencing adaptation in old age. It was hypothesized that (1) less differentiated cognitive control functioning would be found in the older than in the middle age group; (2) higher life satisfaction would be related to more differentiated cognitive control performance and to higher levels of social interaction in both age groups; and (3) an environmental-personality fit effect on life satisfaction and depression scores would be found in both age groups. Fifty individuals in each of two groups, aged 43-60 and 63-89, equally divided by sex, were the subjects studied. They were relatively healthy individuals living in a middle class Brooklyn community. The data for the study included measures of three cognitive controls: leveling-sharpening, scanning, and constricted-flexible control; two measures of adaptation: life satisfaction and depression; and two measures of social involvement: social interaction and psychological involvement. A measure of verbal intelligence was included for comparison with the effect of the cognitive controls. The results indicated (1) less differentiation in all cognitive control performance in the older group relative to the middle aged group; (2) significant positive correlations between life satisfaction and cognitive control scores and negative correlations between depression and cognitive control scores in the older group. Regression analyses revealed that; (3) only in the older group and with the constricted-flexible control did the results support the hypothesized environmental-personality fit effect on lessened depression scores. Although these results must be interpreted with caution because of the possibility of cohort effects, they tentatively suggest some guidelines for programs for the elderly: (1) Information and stimulation should be calibrated to the processing capacity of the older individual at the time they are supplied; (2) degree of social outlets should also be geared to the processing capacity and needs of the elderly individual; while social overstimulation may lead to withdrawal or tension on the part of the individual, disuse and stagnation may accelerate the decline in cognitive functioning.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Social-Personality Psychology
