SAFETYLIT WEEKLY UPDATE

We compile citations and summaries of about 400 new articles every week.
RSS Feed

HELP: Tutorials | FAQ
CONTACT US: Contact info

Search Results

Journal Article

Citation

Birkhill WR, Schaie KW. J. Gerontol. 1975; 30(5): 578-583.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1975, Gerontological Society of America)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1181363

Abstract

The effects of differential reinforcement of cautiousness upon intellectual performance in the elderly were investigated employing 56 females and 32 males with a mean age of 73 years. Cautiousness was manipulated by systematically varying pre-test instruction conditions involving the reinforcement of two levels of risk and of response omission when taking the Primary Mental Abilities Test (PMA). Results suggest that performance in intelligence tests is much influenced by situational variables involving motivational components. Subjects exposed to low-risk conditions performed significantly better on cognitive tasks than those exposed to high-risk conditions only when they were able to exercise the option of responding or not responding to individual task items. Implications for a reconstruction of conventional intelligence measures are discussed.


Language: en

NEW SEARCH


All SafetyLit records are available for automatic download to Zotero & Mendeley
Print