Knowing how adults learn through work is central to understanding their development across working lives. That development is important for their personal trajectories, and ability to contribute, sustain and advance the interests of their workplaces, and collectively to the social and economic viability of their communities and nations. This paper…

A cross-sectional study of educated men and women showed that cautiousness, as measured by perceived problem-solving ability, does not increase with age. Sex differences were nonsignificant. The results are discussed in terms of R. Schultz and J. Heckhausen's Life Span Model of Successful Aging. (Contains 28 references and 1 table.) (Author)

Assessed the effects of a problem-solving skills training program on sex-role identity. Hypothesized that couples (N=26) in a problem-solving skills training program would show greater movement toward androgyny relative to a control group. Results indicated that the experimental group was significantly higher on femininity following treatment.…

Considered the applicability of problem-solving concepts such as planfulness and depth of search to older adult cognitive behavior. Older adults (N=36) solved isomorphic inquiry problems. Half were given planning instructions. Planning instructions reduced the number of questions prior to solution and increased the informational value of…

Research on logical competence in adulthood was framed by the general competence-moderator-performance model of life span cognitive development constructed by Overton and his colleagues. This approach was able to distinguish between logical knowledge necessary for task solution and informational processes that may facilitate or inhibit the…

Studied adults (ages 20-79) presented with two types of problem-solving tasks: a typical task used in problem-solving research, and a task composed of practical daily life problems. Results indicated that developmental function depends on the type of problem presented, while performance on abstract problems may decrease with age. (Author)

One hundred and sixty-two subjects of three age levels were tested to examine the relationship between crystallized and fluid abilities and three problem solving tasks varying in the abstractness/concreteness of their stimuli and emphasis on past experience. These dimensions have been used by Davis to distinguish between Type "O" and Type "C"…

This study examined the cognitive skills and attitudes toward self and others in samples of independent seniors and young men and women. Three proceedings were used to address questions of age or gender differences. Study 1 (N=95) compared the scores of older adults (approximate age range, 64-95 years) on the Silver Drawing Test of Cognition and…

The role of coping strategies, perceived control, and problem-solving appraisal in the career-transition processes of 79 midwestern farmers was studied. Findings suggest that problem-solving appraisal and coping strategies are important in the complex coping process. Results lend support to interventions aimed at increasing farmers' sense of…

Explores age as a moderator of the relationship among gender, sex role, and coping strategies for 155 males and 281 females in 5 age groups from adolescence through old age. Age is related to type of coping and moderates the relationship between sex role orientation and coping. (SLD)

This paper presents the "uses of the past" model of personality development, a model in which adult development transforms an individual's history into resources for meeting present demands. The components of the model are delineated in terms of how: (1) neither the past nor the present is fixed in its effects or its contribution to present…

The aim of this study was to investigate the strategies leading to test item responses in 60 young (20-25 years) and 60 middle-aged (35-40 years) adults, whose highest level of education had been either secondary, technical or university. Subjects were individually administered a 12 item test similar to Raven's Progressive Matrices, and were…

Researchers in South Carolina set up a study and a measurement instrument to determine the powerlessness/alienation phenomenon among rural limited-resource people. They established a control group and an experimental group of black and white residents of six small South Carolina communities. With the control group, they conducted a traditional…

The recent phenomenon of the "returning adult" to colleges has raised concern regarding two implications: age decline in intellectual ability and loss due to lack of practice. Literature indicates slight impairment of the problem-solving function until the years of advanced age. The degree of impairment is related to factors of educational…

Because adult basic education (ABE) students often have difficulty with problem solving and comprehension, a study was initiated to determine (1) at what levels of cognitive development ABE students are operating and (2) how teaching materials and methods relate to these cognitive levels. Thirty-two ABE students were given a written test of…