The effects of an engaged lifestyle on cognitive vitality: A field experiment.

Abstract

Experimental studies on cognitive training have suggested that the effects of experience are narrow in augmenting or maintaining cognitive abilities, while correlational studies report a wide range of benefits of an engaged lifestyle, including increased longevity, resistance to dementia, and enhanced cognitive flexibility. The latter class of evidence is ambiguous because it is possible that it is simply the case that those with relatively better cognitive vitality seek out and maintain a wider range of activities. We report data from a field experiment in which older adults were randomly assigned to participate in a program intended to operationalize an engaged lifestyle, built on a team-based competition in ill-defined problem solving. Relative to controls, experimental participants showed positive change in a composite measure of fluid ability from pretest to posttest. This study, thus, provides experimental evidence for the proposition that engagement, in the absence of specific ability training, can mitigate age-related cognitive declines in fluid ability. Keywordscognitive aging; engagement; use it or lose it; mental exercise; cognitive intervention An engaged lifestyle during adulthood has been shown to be correlated with a variety of benefits, including enhanced longevity (Konlaan, Theobald, & Bygren, 2002), reduced risk of dementia (Verghese et al., 2003), enhanced cognitive resilience in the face of brain pathology (Wilson et al., 2000), and enhanced mental flexibility (Schooler & Mulatu, 2001;Schooler, Mulatu, & Oates, 1999). The explanation for such relationships is far from clear. One possibility is that engagement in an array of stimulating activities has self-enhancing effects on mind and body (the "mental-exercise" hypothesis; Salthouse, 2006), but if this were true, it is difficult to imagine what mechanisms would mediate the effects of activity on vitality so broadly conceived.To be sure, both the experimental literature on training (Ball, 2002;Willis et al., 2006) and the correlational literature on expertise (Horn & Masunaga, 2006;Kramer & Willis, 2002; Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to Elizabeth A. L. Stine-Morrow, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 226 Education Building, 1310 South Sixth Street, Champaign, Illinois, 61820-6990; eals@illinois.edu.. Publisher's Disclaimer: The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at www.apa.org/journals/pag. Morrow, Altieri, & Leirer, 1992) suggest that the effects of experience are very narrow in shaping behavior. Similarl...

Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of Commercially Available Computerized Cognitive Training Among Older Adults

“…Correlational research has shown that cognitive stimulation may protect against age-related cognitive decline and is longitudinally associated with a decreased risk of dementia (Fabrigoule et al 1995;Hall et al 2009; e.g., Hertzog et al 2009;Scarmeas et al 2001;Valenzuela and Sachdev 2009;Verghese et al 2003). However, there is little experimental evidence to demonstrate that cognitive stimulation improves cognition, with a few exceptions (Park et al 2014;Stine-Morrow et al 2008).…”

A Novel Theoretical Life Course Framework for Triggering Cognitive Development across the Lifespan

“…Beyond productivity [Festini, McDonough, & Park, 2016;Friedman & Martin, 2011], which may involve familiar routines, open-minded input-driven learning encourages learners to acquire novel information and use existing knowledge in novel ways. As a result, the learner receives practice in a novel situation using fluid intelligence [e.g., Stine-Morrow et al, 2008] and other basic cognitive abilities [e.g., cognitive control, episodic memory; Bugos et al, 2007;Noice et al, 2014;Park et al, 2014] to achieve appropriate responses, and in distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information [e.g., Wu et al, 2013]. Variety in the types of novel tasks would likely allow for exposure to different ways of challenging basic cognitive abilities [Carlson et al, 2012].…”

The Effect of Dyadic Interactions on Learning Rotate Gesture for Technology-Naïve Older Adults

“…For instance, StineMorrow and colleagues [47] demonstrate that cognitive performance in older adults is enhanced when they engage in collaborative problem-solving. Social learning can also improve performance in patients suffering from memory deficiencies (e.g., [7] [19] [49]).…”