Speculations and Implications

Abstract

This final chapter contains no new discussions of research findings, but instead presents speculations about the practical and theoretical implications of the research reviewed in previous chapters. There are four main sections, with the first consisting of a summary of the best-documented age trends reported in earlier chapters. The second section contains a discussion of the practical significance of these laboratory results, and the third an examination of issues confronting the development of a satisfactory functional age assessment device. The fourth section concludes with an evaluation of the current state of theoretical development in cognitive aging.