Examines how common beliefs about decline in adult intellect over time are shaped by culture. Presents alternative ways of understanding intellectual development: as specialization, as continuing change in intellectual complexities, and as the process of gaining expertise. (SK)

Although it is difficult to quantify the contribution of the college years to work productivity, evidence shows that college does make a difference. It is suggested that the education-work productivity relationship needs to be strengthened through effective counseling, since skills are marketable if those who possess them know they are marketable.…