College women's career and motherhood expectations: New options,old dilemmas

Gender differences in spatial ability in old age were examined longitudinally and the effectiveness of cognitive training in reducing these differences was assessed. The mental rotation ability of older participants (N=229; M age=72.8 years) from the Seattle Longitudinal Study was examined over a 14-year period (1970–1984) from late middle age into old age. Both men and women exhibited normative age-related decline in spatial ability performance across the 14-year period; the magnitude of the gender difference remained constant across this period of decline. A significantly greater proportion of the age-related decline was associated with a drop in speed of problem solving for men than for women. Following training on mental rotation ability, there was no significant gender difference in spatial ability performance. Women exhibited significantly greater pretest-posttest gains, on average, than did men. A greater proportion of training improvement for women compared to men was attributable to increased accuracy. Training was particularly effective for older women who had experienced prior age-related decline.The research reported in this article was supported by grant no. AG03544 from the National Institute on Aging. We gratefully acknowledge the enthusiastic cooperation of members and staff of the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound. Thanks are also due to Diane Backschies, Jean Day, Jackie Levine, Cherril Perera, Alejandra Suarez, and Richard Vigesaa, who ably assisted in the testing and training, and to Anne O'Hanlon and Theresa Cooney, who assisted in the data analyses.