COGNITION, MEMORY, AND PERSONALITY IN ELDERLY STUDENTS

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Abstract
This paper reports the results of a study of three groups (N = 180) of students, ages 17‐23, 37‐43, and 61‐80. The study was designed to assess the relative availability of Piagetian formal reasoning concepts at different ages in adulthood, and to examine performance patterns on standardized intelligence tests, logical reasoning, immediate memory span, and personality measures. Results indicated that although the elderly students’ performance was generally adequate, their scores on various tests were significantly lower than those of their younger college peers. Reasons for these results, and their implications in view of the fact that the subjects were all successful university students, are discussed.