TY - JOUR
AU - Koutstaal, Wilma
AB -  The disuse hypothesis of cognitive aging attributes decrements in fluid intelligence in older adults to reduced cognitively stimulating activity. This study experimentally tested the hypothesis that a period of increased mentally stimulating activities thus would enhance older adults' fluid intelligence performance. Participants (N = 44, mean age 67.82) were administered pre- and post-test measures, including the fluid intelligence measure, Cattell's Culture Fair (CCF) test. Experimental participants engaged in diverse, novel, mentally stimulating activities for 10–12 weeks and were compared to a control condition. Results supported the hypothesis; the experimental group showed greater pre- to post-CCF gain than did controls (effect size d = 0.56), with a similar gain on a spatial-perceptual task (WAIS-R Blocks). Even brief periods of increased cognitive stimulation can improve older adults' problem solving and flexible thinking. 
TI - Age and Flexible Thinking: An Experimental Demonstration of the Beneficial Effects of Increased Cognitively Stimulating Activity on Fluid Intelligence in Healthy Older Adults
JF - "Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition"
DO - 10.1080/13825580701322163
DA - 2008-03-03
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/taylor-francis/age-and-flexible-thinking-an-experimental-demonstration-of-the-89N58h2H6N
SP - 184
EP - 207
VL - 15
IS - 2
DP - DeepDyve
ER -