| Abstract: | The extent and nature of age-related differences in mental synthesis was examined in light of Baddeley's working memory model and resource theories. Mental synthesis performance of 30 young, young-old, middle-old and old-old adults was examined using a dual-task experiment and individual differences approach. Age-related differences in mental synthesis were shown, with an unprecedented heightened decrement evident after the age of 85. The central executive was not a mechanism of this decline. Executive function, speed of information processing, and working memory capacity were mechanisms underlying this decline, and together accounted for 86% of the age-related variance in mental synthesis. Environmental support enhanced mental synthesis. |
