# Presentation: 571731

## Cognitive Research in Aging

- Timothy A. Salthouse
- University of Virginia

- Supported by NIA Grants RO1 AG 19627 and R37 AG 24270.

## Two major parts of the talk

-  Ensuring cumulative progress

**Two major parts of the talk**

## What

- Common Assumptions
- 	Primarily memory
- 	Small effects
- 	Only some people
- 	Not within-person

## Not just memory

## Memory

-   Study the following words and then write as many as you can remember

**Reasoning**
-   Select the best completion of the missing cell in the matrix

**Spatial Visualization**
-   Select the object on the right that corresponds to the pattern on the left

**Perceptual Speed**
-   Classify the pairs as same (S) or different (D) as quickly as possible

- Goat
- Door
- Fish
- Desk
- Rope
- Lake
- Boot
- Frog
- Soup
- Mule

## Salthouse Studies

## When

- Not just late
- Even with knowledge

## Salthouse Data – Speed & Vocabulary

## Where

- Different perspectives on localization
- 	Neuroanatomical region
- 	Processing stages
- 	Organizational structure of abilities

## Age

- Observed
- Variables

- Hypothetical
- (Latent)
- Constructs

## Reas

- Free Recall

- Paired Associates

- Logical Memory

- Spatial Relations

- Paper Folding

- Form Boards

- Ravens

- Shipley Abstraction

- Letter Sets

- Letter Comparison

- Pattern Comparison

- Digit Symbol

- Synonym Vocabulary

- Antonym Vocabulary

- WAIS Vocabulary

- WJ Picture Vocabulary

- Space

- Mem

- Speed

- Voc

- Common

## Age

- Free Recall

- Paired Associates

- Logical Memory

- Spatial Relations

- Paper Folding

- Form Boards

- Ravens

- Shipley Abstraction

- Letter Sets

- Letter Comparison

- Pattern Comparison

- Digit Symbol

- Synonym Vocabulary

- Antonym Vocabulary

- WAIS Vocabulary

- WJ Picture Vocabulary

- Reas

- Space

- Mem

- Speed

- Voc

- Common

- -.46

- .63

- -.31

- -.16

## Why & How

- How can causal developmental hypotheses
-  be investigated?

- Proposal: A true cause should alter the
-  developmental trajectory
- 	Definitive: Intervention
- 	Suggestive: Statistical Mediation

## What we already know.

## Slide 15

## Context within which

- Antonym Vocabulary

- WAIS Vocabulary

- WJ Picture Vocabulary

- Ravens

- Shipley Abstraction

- Letter Sets

- Spatial Relations

- Paper Folding

- Form  Boards

- Free Recall

- Paired Associates

- Logical Memory

- Letter Comparison

- Pattern Comparison

- Digit Symbol

- Voc

- Reas

- Mem

- Speed

- Age

- Space

- +.27

- -.47

- -.40

- -.47

- -.61

-  other variables should
-  be investigated

## Ensure cumulative progress by relying on the established context when investigating:

- 	**Individual Variables**

## Voc

- Antonym Vocabulary

- WAIS Vocabulary

- WJ Picture Vocabulary

- Ravens

- Shipley Abstraction

- Letter Sets

- Spatial Relations

- Paper Folding

- Form  Boards

- Free Recall

- Paired Associates

- Logical Memory

- Letter Comparison

- Pattern Comparison

- Digit Symbol

- Reas

- Mem

- Speed

- Target
- Variable

- Age

- Space

- Total
- Age
- Relation

## Voc

- Antonym Vocabulary

- WAIS Vocabulary

- WJ Picture Vocabulary

- Ravens

- Shipley Abstraction

- Letter Sets

- Spatial Relations

- Paper Folding

- Form  Boards

- Free Recall

- Paired Associates

- Logical Memory

- Letter Comparison

- Pattern Comparison

- Digit Symbol

- Reas

- Mem

- Speed

- Target
- Variable

- Age

- Space

- Unique
- Age
- Relation

## Voc

- Antonym Vocabulary

- WAIS Vocabulary

- WJ Picture Vocabulary

- Ravens

- Shipley Abstraction

- Letter Sets

- Spatial Relations

- Paper Folding

- Form  Boards

- Free Recall

- Paired Associates

- Logical Memory

- Letter Comparison

- Pattern Comparison

- Digit Symbol

- Reas

- Mem

- Speed

- Target
- Variable

- Space

**What do variables represent?**

## Standardized Regression Coefficients

- Total     Unique	      Voc   Reas    Space    Mem   Speed

- Variable

**?****	****?****	****      ?****	****   ?****	****  ?****	****   ?****	****   ?**

- Decision Making Variables

## Ensure cumulative progress by relying on the established context when investigating:

- 	**Individual Variables**
**	****New Constructs**

## Weak

- Variables

- Construct
- Loadings

- Latent
- Constructs

- Construct
- Correlations

- Error
- Variance

- Ravens

- Shipley Abstraction

- Letter Sets

- Spatial Relations

- Paper Folding

- Form Boards

- Free Recall

- Paired Associates

- Logical Memory

**???**

- Reas

- Memory

- Space

- Digit Symbol

- Letter Comparison

- Pattern Comparison

- Speed

- WAIS Vocabulary

- WJ Picture Vocabulary

- Synonym Vocabulary

- Antonym Vocabulary

- Vocab

*Weak*

*Strong*

- Convergent
- Validity

- Discriminant
- Validity

## Decision Making?

- Variables

- Construct
- Loadings

- Latent
- Constructs

- Construct
- Correlations

- Error
- Variance

- Reference
- Constructs

## Summary

- We know quite a bit about the what and when
-  of cognitive aging
- This information should be taken into consideration
-  in future research in investigating
- 	- unique age relations on variables or constructs
- 	- validity of new constructs