COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY-EXAMPLE EXAM QUESTION

Cognitive Psychology-Example Exam Question

Cognitive Psychology-Example Exam Question

Introduction

People with more years of education, more intellectually demanding occupations, or higher IQs are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. The most recent meta-analysis, a review of 20 studies including more than 30,000 subjects, indicates a fairly close and consistent correlation over an average of seven years (Lockshin and Zakeri, 2000). It looks as though some brains have a backup capacity, now called cognitive reserve that can delay or prevent the onset of dementia. This paper evaluates cognitive reserve can contribute to better cognitive functioning in old age in a concise and comprehensive way.

Cognitive Reserve Can Contribute To Better Cognitive Functioning In Old Age: An Evaluation

A major factor contributing to age-related differences in cognitive functioning is a reduction in older adults' processing speed, or the speed of executing cognitive operations. This age-related slowing occurs in the central nervous system and therefore affects all tasks regardless of complexity. Some researchers have proposed that the rate of slowing in older adults is predictable (Lockshin and Zakeri, 2000). For example, some researchers have suggested that young and older adults' processing speeds are linearly related. Others have argued that cognitive processes slow down at a constant rate; more specifically, older adults' processing speed is one and a half times slower than young adults. Although most researchers accept the idea that speed of processing slows with age, there is considerable debate over whether this slowing is the cause of all age differences.

Older adults have a deficit in their inhibitory processes: Aging impairs the ability to inhibit or suppress irrelevant information that becomes activated in the course of cognitive processing. Inhibitory processes serve two functions: to prevent irrelevant information from entering working memory (where people hold and manipulate information that is currently being focused on) and to delete ...