Numerical Cognition: Age-Related Differences in the Speed of Executing Biologically Primary and Biologically Secondary Processes

Groups of younger and older adults were administered numerical and arithmetical tasks that varied in the extent to which they assess evolved versus culturally specific forms of cognition, termed biologically primary and biologically secondary abilities, respectively. Componential analyses of solutio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Experimental aging research 1998-04, Vol.24 (2), p.101-137
Main Author: Lin, David C. Geary Jennifer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult. Elderly
Aged
Aging - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Developmental psychology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Male
Mathematics
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Task Performance and Analysis
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Summary:Groups of younger and older adults were administered numerical and arithmetical tasks that varied in the extent to which they assess evolved versus culturally specific forms of cognition, termed biologically primary and biologically secondary abilities, respectively. Componential analyses of solution times suggested that younger adults are faster than older adults in the execution ofbiologically primary processes. For biologically secondary competencies, a pattern of no agerelated differences or an advantage for older adults in speed of processing was found. The results are consistent with the view that there has been a cross-generational decline in arithmetical competencies in the United States and are discussed in terms of models of age-related change in cognitive performance.
ISSN:0361-073X
1096-4657
DOI:10.1080/036107398244274