In an attempt to facilitate the problem-solving performance of elderly individuals by manipulating peripheral, noncognitive variables, a series of four studies was undertaken. In the first study, the effect of both increasing motivation and giving practice was investigated. Motivation was manipulated by giving money for good performance. The second study was a direct replication of the first study. Neither the motivation manipulation nor practice had any effect on problem-solving performance. In the third study, the effect of imposing a delay between the administration of the instructions and the beginning of the problem-solving task was investigated. There was no difference between the performance of the individuals who were delayed and those that were not. In the fourth study, the effect of prior success on another cognitive task was studied. Individuals who were exposed to success on a different cognitive task immediately preceding the administration of the problem-solving task did no better than individuals who were not exposed to such a success experience. The results of these experiments indicate that it is not nearly as easy to change the problem-solving performance of elderly individuals through the manipulation of the peripheral, noncognitive factors investigated as it is to change their performance through direct training on problem-solving abilities.
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Nancy Wadsworth Denney (2009) studied this question.