Cognitive Strategy Training and Intellectual Performance in the Elderly

Reduced intellectual performance in the elderly was conceptualized as an experientail deficit than can be reversed by training relevant component skills. Sixty female elderly subjects (ages 63 to 95) participated in three phases of the experiment: Training, Immediate Posttest, and Delayed Posttest. Training was geared at strengthening covert self-monitoring strategies in complex reasoning problems, and training effects were evaluated both on the training and a transfer task. Results showed raised performance in the training conditions, transfer effects, and maintenance of training and transfer effects over 2 weeks. Implications for theories of adult intelligence are discussed.