A systemic-wholistic approach to differential aging: longitudinal findings from the Berlin Aging Study

Wholistic perspectives on differential change focus on multiple-indicator information at a person level. They supplement the modeling of average trajectories at a variable level. The authors extended cross-sectional work in the Berlin Aging Study (J. Smith & P. B. Baltes, 1997) to 6-year longitudinal cluster analyses (n = 132). At baseline, 3 subgroups were identified with distinct within-person psychological profiles across cognitive, personality, and social integration constructs. Over time, highly similar subgroup profiles were found, and about two thirds of the participants could be classified as remaining in the same subgroups. Baseline subgroups differed in level and slope of change and in 2 outcomes, well-being and mortality. Independent of subgroup membership, subgroup-to-subgroup change was associated with greater decline and predicted poststudy mortality. These findings demonstrate the usefulness of a wholistic approach for long-term prediction of outcomes and within-person systemic variability.     

Cognitive training research on fluid intelligence in old age: what can older adults achieve by themselves?

Cognitive research on the plasticity of fluid intelligence has demonstrated that older adults benefit markedly from guided practice in cognitive skills and problem-solving strategies. We examined to what degree older adults are capable by themselves of achieving similar practice gains, focusing on the fluid ability of figural relations. A sample of 72 healthy older adults was assigned randomly to three conditions: control, tutor-guided training, self-guided training. Training time and training materials were held constant for the two training conditions. Posttraining performances were analyzed using a transfer of training paradigm in terms of three indicators: correct responses, accuracy, and level of item difficulty. The training programs were effective and produced a significant but narrow band of within-ability transfer. However, there was no difference between the two training groups. Older adults were shown to be capable of producing gains by themselves that were comparable to those obtained following tutor-guided training in the nature of test-relevant cognitive skills.     

Professional expertise does not eliminate age differences in imagery-based memory performance during adulthood.

Using a testing-the-limits paradigm, the authors investigated the modulation (attenuation) of negative adult age differences in imagery-based memory performance as a function of professional expertise. Six older graphic designers, 6 normal older adults, 6 younger graphic design students, and 6 normal younger students participated in a 19-session program with a cued-recall variant of the Method of Loci. Older graphic designers attained higher levels of mnemonic performance than normal older adults but were not able to reach younger adults' level of performance; a perfect separation of age groups was achieved. Spatial visualization was a good predictor of mnemonic performance. Results suggest that negative adult age differences in imagery-based memory are attenuated but not eliminated by the advantages associated with criterion-relevant ability (talent) and experience.     

Reduced negativity effect in older adults' memory for emotional pictures: the heterogeneity-homogeneity list paradigm

Using the heterogeneity-homogeneity list paradigm, the authors investigated 48 young adults' (20-30 years) and 48 older adults' (65-75 years) recognition memory for emotional pictures. The authors obtained no evidence for a positivity bias in older adults' memory: Age differences were primarily driven by older adults' diminished ability to remember negative pictures. The authors further found a strong effect of list types: Pictures, particularly neutral ones, were better recognized in homogeneous (blocked) lists than in heterogeneous (mixed) ones. Results confirm those of a previous study by D. Grühn, J. Smith, and P. B. Baltes (2005) that used a different type of to-be-remembered material, that is, pictures instead of words.     

Validity of retrospective time‐use reports in old age

In a sample of N=83 participants aged between 72 and 97, we assessed the accuracy of time budgets originating from the Yesterday Interview (YI; Moss and Lawton, 1982) by means of comparison with in‐situ assessments based on the Experience‐Sampling Method (ESM; e.g. Csikszentmihalyi and Larson, 1987). We examined convergent and discriminant correlation patterns from indices of activity participation, location, company, and mood collected via both methods. The correspondence between the two methods appeared acceptable. Furthermore, we explored whether (a) length of the retention interval, (b) congruence with pre‐existing knowledge, and (c) congruence of the locations of encoding and retrieval accounted for (in)accuracy of recall. We also analysed the degree to which age and cognitive functioning explained performance differences. While we found discrepancies between YI and ESM to be hardly attributable to context effects or differences in cognitive functioning, there was an age effect. Finally, the sensitivity of the two methods to detect differences between groups was found to be largely equivalent but hardly sufficiently convergent. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examining the Relationships Between Personality,Coping Strategies,and Work–Family Conflict

Purpose  

The purpose of this study was to examine the processes through which personality characteristics may influence work–family conflict (WFC). Specifically, the mediating effects of selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) behavioral stress-coping strategies on the relationship between personality characteristics and WFC were tested.