Article 1: ognition through the lifespan: mechanisms of change

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

• Cognitive ageing not development in reverse
• Similar behaviors in young and old mediated by different neural circuits in brain Cognitive change not due to one single function in the brain
• Baltes: changes at any time, mixture of genetics, environment, social, both loss and growth, no end
Salthouse: general slowing
• Language: small age-related losses from age 70
• Ageing= problems of access
• Knowledge deficiencies both in children and old, BUT:
Children= incomplete acquisition
Old=difficulties of access

Question 2

Representation and control in lifespan cognition

Answer 2

• Processes concerned with representation, control and their interaction evolve across lifespan and determine cognitive ability
• Representations= set of crystallized schemas that are basis of memory and knowledge
• Control= set of fluid operations that enable intentional processing and adaptive cognitive performance
 All interactive
• Age-related changes in sensory and motor processes correlate highly with general cognitive functioning

Question 3

Lifespan changes in representation

Answer 3

• Nelson: sensori-motor learningsocial development/development of system of symbolic representationsrepresentational stage (historical and metacultural)
All stages remain available, to be used as context demands
• Same as Piaget schemesprototype
• Context important at first, importance declines over lifespan, later necessary again for old
• Representations get more detailed (animaldog)
• Important schema: “self”
• Representational systems e.g.: language, general knowledge, procedural skills (playing instrument)
Remain stable, BUT:
formation of new representation problematic for old
depends on practice
depends on access to control
• Representational systems are hierarchically organized
• (high levels-low levels): general, conceptual, context-free knowledge specific episodic instances, lexical and phonological info, category exemplars
• Old loose access to lower levelsdedifferentation (Baltes)
critic: some process decline, others remain stable

Question 4

Lifespan changes in cognitive control:

Answer 4

• Frontal lobes= control, last to mature in children, first to be impaired with ageing
• Executive functions linked to working memory
• A not B task: Piaget
• Bilinguals more advanced in control tasks
• Cognitive control peaks in late teens /early twenties, declines with age
• Task switching

Question 5

Expertise: interactions of expertise and control

Answer 5

• Canadian post workers

* Salthouse: Architects

Question 6

Integrating descriptions of cognitive change across the lifespan

Answer 6

• Development: focus on representations

* Ageing: focus on control