Worth,
Michael (5/09) A lifespan developmental perspective on the role of cognitive
activities as mediators to normal age-related decline in fluid abilities (Paul
Ramirez, Ph.D.; Gary Kose, Ph.D.; Barry Ritzler, Ph.D.)
Cognitive decline in fluid intelligence
throughout the aging process has been shown in numerous studies. The current
study examined whether engagement in specific activities, in this case chess
playing and crossword solving, would have an impact on the rate of decline of
these cognitive processes when compared to a no activity group, or when
compared to each other. Participants in each group ( N = 192) were administered
a battery of standard cognitive measures to determine if any differences were
evident. A significant difference was found between chess players and the no
activity group on two of the four measures of fluid intelligence. The crossword
group did not differ from the control group on any of the fluid measures, but
were significantly better on the one measure of crystallized intelligence. No
significant results were found when comparing the chess players to the
crossword solvers.
