Animistic responding was generally unrelated to logical classification ability or to analytic cognitive style. Results which found high levels of animistic thinking beyond adolescence do not support Piagetian theory. Adults may respond animistically because of emotional attachments which they have formed to certain meaningful physical objects.…

Fluctuations in cognitive task performance in older individuals have been reported. To examine intraindividual variability as a function of practice, 34 younger and 34 older female participants, aged 20-30 years and 70-82 years, respectively, performed a reading span task 16 times over four sessions. Each individual's recall accuracy was analyzed…

Veterans Administration domiciliary residents in three age groups over age 50 completed measures of life satisfaction, locus of control and self-concept. Older veterans had resolved ego integrity v despair crisis more adequately than younger veterans. An institutional environment that facilitates self-esteem and satisfaction of elderly residents…

Studied white and blue-collar men and women using a questionnaire seeking designation of the most suitable ages for various role transitions and age-related attributes. Comparisons with 1950s findings indicated loosening of the norms, but with continuing adherence to a prescriptive timetable and with persistent socioeconomic differences. Results…

A suicide potential scale is constructed that fits the Guttman scale criteria. The mean suicide potential scores of various age groups support the cohort model with the exception of individuals 75 and older, where it appears that maturation factors play an important role in explaining suicidal behavior. (Author)

Surveyed 928 older Bostonians and found a negative correlation between age and alcohol consumption among older adults. Retrospective data suggest that there are cohort or generational patterns of drinking behavior by older adults. Survey provides no insight into the historical factors which account for the differences in alcohol use. (Author/JAC)

Discusses five issues related to the Georgia Centenarian Study: recruitment of centenarians, birth cohort effects, the changing age structure of the population, religion, and cognition and survival. Concludes that Georgia Centenarian Study provides critically needed baseline data so characteristics of centenarians of the twenty-first century can…

Assessed developmental aspects of ideational fluency, flexibility, and originality across five age groups in 316 Chinese who responded in Cantonese to four groups of acoustical stimuli. Comparative American data were collected previously. Results indicated cross-cultural similarity in the expression of originality, based on developmental trends…