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Is age kinder to the initially more able? A study of eminent scientists and academics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Helen Christensen  and
A. S. Henderson
Helen Christensen*
Affiliation:
NH & MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
A. S. Henderson
Affiliation:
NH & MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr H. Christensen, NH & MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, Australian National University, GPO Box 4, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
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Synopsis

Elderly eminent academics and blue-collar workers were compared with Doctor of Philosophy students and trade apprentices to investigate whether intelligence and memory deteriorate at a slower rate in persons with high ability. The elderly groups showed decline on tests of perceptual-motor speed, visuospatial reasoning, inferential thinking and memory relative to the young subjects. Initial ability determined the level of intellectual performance, such that elderly academics maintained their initial advantage over the elderly blue-collar workers. However, with the exception of the Similarities subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the rate of change on tests of memory and intelligence did not differ for the high- and low-ability groups. The hypothesis that high ability is associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline was not supported.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 21 , Issue 4 , November 1991 , pp. 935 - 946
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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