Cross-sectional and longitudinal patterns of dedifferentiation in late-life cognitive and sensory function: The effects of age, ability, attrition, and occasion of measurement.

Anstey, Kaarin J.; Hofer, Scott M.; Luszcz, Mary A.

doi:10.1037/0096-3445.132.3.470

Cited by 99 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…However, and in line with results reported by Anstey et al (2003), the present results also suggest that these connections are weaker than originally suggested by crosssectional data (e.g., Lindenberger & Baltes, 1994). Previously observed cross-sectional correlations between sensory and cognitive domains of functioning were probably bolstered by the magnitude and similarity of negative age gradients in both domains, or by what Kalveram (1965) has termed the modification of factor structures through simultaneous superimposition (see also Hertzog, 1985;Hofer, Flaherty, & Hoffman, 2006;Lindenberger & Pötter, 1998;.…”

Section: Gauging the Cognitive-sensory Linksupporting

confidence: 93%

Cognitive and sensory declines in old age: Gauging the evidence for a common cause.

Lindenberger

Ghisletta

2009

Psychology and Aging

217

215

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Resource accounts of behavioral aging postulate that age-associated impairments within and across intellectual and sensory domains reflect, in part, a common set of senescent alterations in the neurochemistry and neuroanatomy of the aging brain. Hence, these accounts predict sizeable correlations of between-person differences in rates of decline, both within and across intellectual and sensory domains. The authors examined reliability-adjusted variances and covariances in longitudinal change for 8 cognitive measures and for close visual acuity, distant visual acuity, and hearing in 516 participants in the Berlin Aging Study (ages 70 to 103 years at 1st measurement). Up to 6 longitudinal measurements were distributed over up to 13 years. Individual differences in rates of cognitive decline were highly correlated, with a single factor accounting for 60% of the variance in cognitive change. This amount increased to 65% when controlling for age at first measurement, distance to death, and risk of dementia. Contrary to expectations, the correlations between cognitive and sensory declines were only moderate in size, underscoring the need to delineate both domain-general and function-specific mechanisms of behavioral senescence.

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Section: Gauging the Cognitive-sensory Linksupporting

confidence: 93%

Cognitive and sensory declines in old age: Gauging the evidence for a common cause.

Lindenberger

Ghisletta

2009

Psychology and Aging

217

215

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“…To our knowledge, only few longitudinal studies examined cognitive dedifferentiation in old age. Anstey et al (2003) did not find consistent patterns of dedifferentiation. In contrast, in a sample of 377 individuals aged 79 years and older, Ghisletta and de Ribaupierre (2005) did find corroborative results for dedifferentiation of cognitive abilities in late life (see also de Frias et al 2007).…”

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confidence: 77%

Five views of a secret: does cognition change during middle adulthood?

Zimprich

Mascherek

2010

Eur J Ageing

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This study examined five aspects of change (or stability) in cognitive abilities in middle adulthood across a 12-year period. Data come from the Interdisciplinary Study on Adult Development. The sample consisted of N = 346 adults (43.8 years on average, 48.6% female). In total, 11 cognitive tests were administered to assess fluid and crystallized intelligence, memory, and processing speed. In a first series of analyses, strong measurement invariance was established. Subsequently, structural stability, differential stability, stability of divergence, absolute stability, and the generality of changes were examined. Factor covariances were shown to be equal across time, implying structural stability. Stability coefficients were around .90 for fluid and crystallized intelligence, and speed, indicating high, yet not perfect differential stability. The coefficient for memory was .58. Only in processing speed the variance increased across time, indicating heterogeneity in interindividual development. Significant mean-level changes emerged, with an increase in crystallized intelligence and decline in the other three abilities. A number of correlations among changes in cognitive abilities were significant, implying that cognitive changes in middle adulthood share up to 50 percent of variance.

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“…Dedifferentiation in the form of increasing ability interrelations was not supported by Anstey, Hofer, and Luszcz (2003); Schaie, Maitland, Willis, and Intrieri (1998);and Zelinski and Lewis (2003; see for a review of key studies). However, in a series of longitudinal studies, Ghisletta and colleagues (Ghisletta & de Ribaupierre, 2005;Ghisletta & Lindenberger, 2003, 2004 have found support for their hypothesis that declining process aspects of cognition constrain the culture-based aspects of cognition with advancing adult age through demonstrating that levels of process abilities predict changes in culture-based abilities, more so than the converse.…”

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confidence: 99%

Adult age trends in the relations among cognitive abilities.

Tucker‐Drob

Salthouse

2008

Psychology and Aging

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Adult age (24 years to 91 years) was examined as a potential moderator of the relations among cognitive abilities in an aggregate dataset based on studies conducted at the Cognitive Aging Lab at the University of Virginia (N = 2,227). A novel approach was applied by which the manifestations of latent ability factors were free to differ across age groups, and age trends in the interrelations among the factors were tested. Contrary to the dedifferentiation hypothesis, there was no evidence for systematic increases in the magnitudes of relations among cognitive abilities. Conventional analytic procedures replicated these findings. Keywordsaging; dedifferentiation; cognitive abilities; intelligence; measurement invariance Spearman (1904) was the first to establish that all cognitive variables are positively related to one another. He was also among the first to propose moderators of the magnitudes of these relations (Spearman, 1927). In particular, Spearman (1927) hypothesized that ability level modifies the magnitude of ability covariation such that ability interrelations are weaker at higher ability levels. He reasoned that at lower ability levels, a scarcity of domain-general resources constrains performance across a wide range of behaviors, whereas at higher ability levels, domain-general resources are profuse, and behavior is instead limited by the quality of domain-specific structures. Garrett (1938Garrett ( , 1946) applied Spearman's hypothesis to childhood development by arguing that "abstract or symbol intelligence changes in its organization as age increases from a fairly unified and general ability to a loosely organized group of abilities or factors" (Garrett, 1946, p. 373). He termed this conjecture the differentiation hypothesis. Balinsky (1941) similarly examined Spearman's hypothesis in both development and aging, and on the basis of his crosssectional analyses of the Wechsler-Bellevue standardization sample, Balinsky observed that "less of the variance can be accounted for by a single factor through the age group 25 to 29, while more and more of the variance can be so accounted for as the higher age groups are reached" (p. 227). Balinsky concluded that "there is a greater specialization up to a certain point, followed by a later reintegration of the various abilities into a flexible whole" (p. 227). Hence, the hypothesis that abilities become more highly related with adult age has come to be termed reintegration or dedifferentiation (see also Baltes, Cornelius, Spiro, Nesselroade, & Willis, 1980 McHugh and Owens (1954) supported the dedifferentiation hypothesis in a 31-year longitudinal sample of adults (the mean age at their first testing was 19 years). Lienert and Crott (1964) found cross-sectional support for differentiation followed by dedifferentiation in samples of children, adolescents, and adults. They proposed that, because cognitive abilities decline with adult age, their age-based dedifferentiation could be explained by Spearman's (1927) hypothesis that abilities are more closely...

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Cross-sectional and longitudinal patterns of dedifferentiation in late-life cognitive and sensory function: The effects of age, ability, attrition, and occasion of measurement.

Cited by 99 publications

References 72 publications

Cognitive and sensory declines in old age: Gauging the evidence for a common cause.

Cognitive and sensory declines in old age: Gauging the evidence for a common cause.

Five views of a secret: does cognition change during middle adulthood?

Adult age trends in the relations among cognitive abilities.

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