Cited by 5,902Aging and Gerontology ResearchCognitive Abilities and TestingCognitive Functions and Memory

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The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition

Salthouse, Timothy A.·1996·Psychological Review

DOI 10.1037/0033-295x.103.3.403

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Abstract

Advancing adult age is associated with reduced processing speed, which constrains cognitive performance.

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Background
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Background
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“…memory (Kahana, Howard, Zaromb, & Wingfield, 2002; Kausler, 1994), slowing in a number of perceptual and cognitive operations (Cerella, 1994; Salthouse, 1996), reduced working memory resources (Bopp & Verhaeghen, 2005; Salthouse, 1994) and reduced efficiency in executive function and…”
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Method
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Method
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Background
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“Processing speed is a key factor in cognitive aging (Salthouse, 1996) and speed related cognitive declines measured with tools such as the Useful Field of View (UFOV) (e.”
Method
A Motor Programming Task Activates the Prefrontal Cortex More than a Sensitivity-to-Interference Task or an Inhibitory Control Task in Older Adults
Toyoda, M., Yokota, Y., & Rodiek, S. D. (2016) · Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science · doi:10.4236/jbbs.2016.611040 · Cited by 8
“Decrease in information processing speed [5], decline of WM function [6] and decline of inhibitory control function [7] are considered to be the main factors in the age-related decline of executive function.”
Background
The influence of training task stimuli on transfer effects of working memory training in aging
Cantarella, A., Borella, E., Carretti, B., Kliegel, M., Mammarella, N., Fairfield, B., & Béni, R. D. (2017) · Psychologie Française · doi:10.1016/j.psfr.2017.04.005 · Cited by 7
Individual differences in processing resources modulate bimanual interference in pointing
Hesse, C., Koroknai, L., & Billino, J. (2018) · Psychological Research · doi:10.1007/s00426-018-1050-3 · Cited by 7
“…the well-established knowledge on overall declining cognitive control resources in old age (e.g., Hasher & Zacks, 1988; Park & Reuter-Lorenz, 2009; Salthouse, 1996; West, 1996), it can be expected that bimanual coordination is critically challenged by limited processing resources in older adults.”
Background
Delayed reconfiguration of a non-emotional task set through reactivation of an emotional task set in task switching: an ageing study
Berger, N., Richards, A., & Davelaar, E. J. (2019) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2019.1567462 · Cited by 7
“These results of better vocabulary knowledge (Alwin & McCammon, 2001; Bowles, Grimm, & McArdle, 2005) and slower processing speed (Salthouse, 1996, 2000) in older than younger adults are consistent with typical findings in ageing research.”
Result
Effects of system response delays on elderly humans’ cognitive performance in a virtual training scenario
Wirzberger, M., Schmidt, R., Georgi, M., Hardt, W., Brunnett, G., & Rey, G. D. (2019) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-019-44718-x · Cited by 8
“With respect to memory performance, it is important to consider processes of decline associated with cognitive aging, such as a loss of cognitive speed 13,14 and impaired cognitive control when facing external interference 15 .”
Background
More similitudes than differences between bilinguals and monolinguals on speeded and demand-varying executive tasks
Sanchez-Azanza, V. A., Penadés, R. L., & Adrover‐Roig, D. (2019) · Language Cognition and Neuroscience · doi:10.1080/23273798.2019.1706752 · Cited by 7
Do neurobiological differences exist between paranoid and non-paranoid schizophrenia? Findings from the bipolar schizophrenia network on intermediate phenotypes study
Lutz, O., Lizano, P. L., Mothi, S. S., Zeng, V., Hegde, R. R., Hoang, D. T., Henson, P., Brady, R. O., Tamminga, C. A., Pearlson, G. D., et al. (2020) · Schizophrenia Research · doi:10.1016/j.schres.2020.02.011 · Cited by 7
Different performance, full experience: a learning game applied throughout adulthood
Greipl, S., Moeller, K., Kiili, K. J. M., & Ninaus, M. (2020) · International Journal of Serious Games · doi:10.17083/ijsg.v7i3.359 · Cited by 7
A factor score reflecting cognitive functioning in patients from the Swiss Atrial Fibrillation Cohort Study (Swiss-AF)
Springer, A., Monsch, A. U., Dutilh, G., Coslovsky, M., Kievit, R., Bonati, L. H., Conen, D., Aeschbacher, S., Beer, J. H., Schwenkglenks, M. M., et al. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240167 · Cited by 8
“Finally, the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) [22] allows to capture psychomotor speed, and performance is assumed to reflect the overall efficiency of cognitive operations [29, 30].”
Method
The relationship between neuropsychological dispersion, processing speed and memory after electrical injury
Paxton, J. L., Resch, Z. J., Cation, B., Lapitan-Moore, F., Obolsky, M. A., Calderone, V., Fink, J. W., Lee, R. C., Soble, J. R., & Pliskin, N. H. (2021) · Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/13803395.2021.1889989 · Cited by 7
Self-control in old age: A grounded theory study
Caorong, L. A. (2021) · Belitung Nursing Journal · doi:10.33546/bnj.1412 · Cited by 8
Insular Connectivity Is Associated With Self-Appraisal of Cognitive Function After a Concussion
Churchill, N. W., Hutchison, M. G., Graham, S. J., & Schweizer, T. A. (2021) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.653442 · Cited by 8
“This likely reflects a general reduction in speed of information processing (33), which has a common neural substrate across different tasks (34).”
Background
Multi-trial free recall dynamics in preschool children and young adults
Kelly, A. J., & Beran, M. J. (2021) · Journal of Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1080/20445911.2021.1977815 · Cited by 6
“This is similar to what is done in some aging research when older adults are given longer to encode items to account for age-related slowing (e.g. Salthouse, 1996).”
Result
Separating PIAAC competencies from general cognitive skills: A dimensionality and explanatory analysis
Engelhardt, L., Goldhammer, F., Lüdtke, O., Köller, O., Baumert, J., & Carstensen, C. H. (2021) · Studies In Educational Evaluation · doi:10.1016/j.stueduc.2021.101069 · Cited by 10
“…perceptual speed was above the common factor negatively related to age, and the perceptual speed factor showed also in the four-dimensional model the strongest negative relation to age, which is in line with previous empirical findings (Lang et al., 2007; Salthouse, 1996; Zimprich & Martin, 2002).”
BackgroundResult
Age-related differences when searching in a real environment: The use of semantic contextual guidance and incidental object encoding
Ramzaoui, H., Faure, S., & Spotorno, S. (2021) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1177/17470218211064887 · Cited by 7
“that compensates for slower information processing speed (Salthouse, 1996), slower eye”
Background
Explainable Convolutional Neural Network to Investigate Age-Related Changes in Multi-Order Functional Connectivity
Dong, S., Jin, Y. M., Bak, S., Yoon, B., & Jeong, J. (2021) · Electronics · doi:10.3390/electronics10233020 · Cited by 6
Locus coeruleus and dorsal cingulate morphology contributions to slowed processing speed
Eckert, M. A., Iuricich, F., Harris, K. C., Hamlett, E. D., Vazey, E. M., & Aston‐Jones, G. (2022) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108449 · Cited by 6
The disruptive effects of changing-state sound and emotional prosody on verbal short-term memory in blind, visually impaired, and sighted listeners
Kattner, F., Fischer, M., Caling, A. L., Cremona, S., Ihle, A., Hodgson, T. L., & Föcker, J. (2023) · Journal of Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1080/20445911.2023.2186771 · Cited by 7
“…no statistical e ﬀ ect on serial recall, the blind participants ’ older age would have been expected to reduce (rather than enhance) performance in the serial recall task (e.g. Dobbs & Rule, 1989; Maylor et al., 1999; Salthouse, 1996), and thus have worked against their short-term memory advantage.”
Background
Investigating the link between regional oxygen metabolism and cognitive speed in multiple sclerosis: Implications for fatigue
Zuppichini, M. D., Sivakolundu, D. K., West, K. L., et al. (2023) · Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.msard.2023.105074 · Cited by 7
Executive Functions, Processing Speed, and Memory Performance: Untangling the Age-related Effects
Saikia, B., & Tripathi, R. (2023) · Journal of Psychiatry Spectrum · doi:10.4103/jopsys.jopsys_13_23 · Cited by 7
Individual Differences in Attentional Resources and Social Cognition: Elaboration and Complexity in Representations of Others and Self
Conway, M. A. (2000) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-011-4373-8_1 · Cited by 7
Oral Diadokokinetic Rate - An Insight into Speech Motor Control
Devadiga, D. N., & Bhat, J. S. (2012) · Cited by 7
Prueba computarizada Memonum: efecto de intervalos y distractores sobre la memoria de trabajo en mujeres mayores de 50 años
Sarmiento, E. L. P., Garzón, G. E. P., Orduz, M. A. M., et al. (2010) · Universitas Psychologica · doi:10.11144/javeriana.upsy9-3.pcme · Cited by 7
“Autores como Román y Sánchez (1998) y Salthouse (1996) formulan que este deterioro, se caracteriza por mayor demanda en el tiempo de procesamiento, manipulación y recuperación de la información, mientras que el volumen de almacenamiento podría no diferir significativamente del de un adulto joven.”
BackgroundInfluential
Vision and intelligence at age 83 in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921
Henderson, R. D., Allerhand, M., Patton, N., Pattie, A., Gow, A. J., Dhillon, B., Starr, J. M., & Deary, I. J. (2011) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2011.02.005 · Cited by 7
Age differences in switching the relevant stimulus dimensions in a speeded same–different judgment paradigm
Hsieh, S., & Wu, M. (2010) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2010.05.010 · Cited by 7
The rapid screen of concussion: An evaluation of the non-word repetition test for use in mTBI research
Falconer, E. K., Geffen, G. M., Olsen, S., & McFarland, K. A. (2006) · Brain Injury · doi:10.1080/02699050601049601 · Cited by 8
“Salthouse [41] also argues that the trade-off between loss of information and speed of relevant processing is relevant to the phonological loop component of Baddeley’s model.”
BackgroundResultInfluential
Individual Differences in Subjective Organization and Verbal Learning in Old Age
Kurtz, T., & Zimprich, D. (2014) · Experimental Aging Research · doi:10.1080/0361073x.2014.956619 · Cited by 7
“Whether subjective organization is also related to executive control capacities, or to further basic cognitive abilities, such as processing speed (Salthouse, 1996), represents an important issue for future research in order to find explanations for individual differences in subjective organization and, thus, in verba…”
BackgroundMethod
Reduced benefit from mnemonic strategies in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease: a brief testing-the-limits paradigm for clinical practice
Uttner, I., Schurig, N., Arnim, C. A. F. V., Lange‐Asschenfeldt, C., Tumani, H., & Riepe, M. W. (2010) · Journal of Neurology · doi:10.1007/s00415-010-5610-8 · Cited by 7
Modèles néo-piagétiens du développement cognitif et perspective psychométrique de l’intelligence : y a-t-il convergence ?
Ribaupierre, A. D. (2007) · L’Année psychologique · doi:10.4074/s0003503307002060 · Cited by 7
It's all in the Mind: Changing the Way we Think about Age
Edgar, L., & Bunker, D. (2013) · International Journal of Market Research · doi:10.2501/ijmr-2013-020 · Cited by 7
PROCESAMIENTO DE CLÁUSULAS RELATIVAS ANIDADAS, MEMORIA OPERATIVA Y ENVEJECIMIENTO
Gutiérrez, B. M. A., Véliz, M., Riffo, B., & ROA-URETA, R. (2014) · RLA. Revista de lingüística teórica y aplicada · doi:10.4067/s0718-48832014000100008 · Cited by 7
Extended cascade models of age and individual differences in children's fluid intelligence
Alwis, D. D., Hale, S., & Myerson, J. (2014) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2014.05.008 · Cited by 7
“More specifically, Salthouse (1996) hypothesized that faster processing improves working memory by making it possible to complete necessary cognitive operations either when environmental constraints restrict the time that information is available (which he termed the limited-time mechanism), as…”
Background

Authors: Salthouse, T. A.
Affiliations: Georgia Institute of Technology (US)
Corresponding author: Salthouse, Timothy A.
Venue: Psychological Review
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 1996
Volume: 103
Issue: 3
Pages: 403-428
ISSN: 0033-295X (ISSN-L)
1939-1471
DOI: 10.1037/0033-295x.103.3.403
OpenAlex: W2039752037
Semantic Scholar: 8ed819fe682efc79801d73e6343885be23d36fb8
Cited by: 5,902
References: 113
Citations by year: 2026: 269 · 2025: 251 · 2024: 232 · 2023: 214 · 2022: 217 · 2021: 273 · 2020: 240 · 2019: 296 · 2018: 280 · 2017: 273 · 2016: 284 · 2015: 309 · 2014: 267 · 2013: 266 · 2012: 283
FWCI: 81.40
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Psychological Review (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Institute on Aging (R37AG006826)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
Keywords: processing speed, age differences in cognition, fluid intelligence, cognitive aging
MeSH terms: Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Attention, Cognition, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Reaction Time

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The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition

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