Abstract
As interest in aging and the aged has increased, thoughts about the relationship between cognition and aging have undergone repeated revisions. At mid-century, the dominant perspective on this topic was expressed by David Wechsler (1958): “Nearly all studies... have shown that most human abilities... decline progressively after... ages 18 and 25” (p. 135). By the early to mid-1970s, the notion of inescapable age-related decline was being strongly challenged, with titles such as “Aging and IQ: The Myth of the Twilight Years” being used in reviews of the literature (Baltes & Schaie, 1974). Contemporary approaches emphasize the diversity of aging—cognition relations, plasticity in old-age abilities, and the marked individual differences that exist among older people.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
La Rue, A. (1992). Cognition in Normal Aging. In: Aging and Neuropsychological Assessment. Critical Issues in Neuropsychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9119-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9119-8_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-9121-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9119-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive