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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“The overall slowdown is also a common element of ageing (Salthouse, 1996, 2019).”
Background
Sex differences in Parkinson disease-associated episodic memory and processing speed deficits
Reekes, T. H., Higginson, C. I., Sigvardt, K. A., King, D. S., Levine, D., Wheelock, V., & Disbrow, E. A. (2023) · Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society · doi:10.1017/s1355617723000097 · Cited by 5
Trait anxiety slows speed of processing but does not affect specific components of executive control
Adrover‐Roig, D., Sanchez-Azanza, V. A., Buil‐Legaz, L., Penadés, R. L., & Aguilar-Mediavilla, E. M. (2023) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103973 · Cited by 9
Brain functional characterization of response-code conflict in dual-tasking and its modulation by age
Oliveros, L. K. P., Cieslik, E. C., Pieczykolan, A., Pläschke, R. N., Eickhoff, S. B., & Langner, R. (2023) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhad273 · Cited by 4
Word or pseudoword? The lexicality effect in naming and lexical decision tasks during advanced aging
Rojas, C., Cofré, M. S. M., Urzúa, P., & Guerra, E. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0299266 · Cited by 5
Asynchronous behavioral and neurophysiological changes in word production in the adult lifespan
Krethlow, G., Fargier, R., Atanasova, T., Ménétré, E., & Laganaro, M. (2024) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhae187 · Cited by 6
“…the global decline in cognitive performance, namely slowing down of processes by aging (i.e. the general slowing theories, e.g. Myerson et al. 1990; Salthouse 1996, 2000), a reduced capacity for processing information (the resource theory; e.g. Miller 1956), a decline in inhibitory processes that…”
Background
The impact of incident stroke on cognitive trajectories in later life
Vishwanath, S., Hopper, I., CLOUD, G. C., Chong, T. T. ‐., Shah, R. C., Donnan, G. A., Williamson, J. D., Eaton, C. B., Wolfe, R. S., Reid, C. M., et al. (2024) · Alzheimer s Research & Therapy · doi:10.1186/s13195-024-01479-8 · Cited by 5
“Processing speed, defined as how fast information can be processed, is often linked to higher-order cognitive processes [30].”
Background
Age-related effects in magnitude and place-value processing
Artemenko, C., Giannouli, V., & Nuerk, H. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-63298-z · Cited by 5
“This may suggest that the number magnitude representation becomes more precise during aging because of lifetime experience with numbers, while processing speed in general decreases 26 .”
Background
From palm to practice: prescription digital therapeutics for mental and brain health at the National Institutes of Health
Ferrante, M., Esposito, L. E., & Stoeckel, L. E. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1433438 · Cited by 5
“There are age-related changes in neuropsychological functions (66, 67) such as, slowed information processing (68) and a preference for information accuracy over volume or speed (66 – 69), which may make the often fast-paced, continuously changing digital landscape more challenging to manage or a…”
Background
Distributed associations among white matter hyperintensities and structural brain networks with fluid cognition in healthy aging
Rudolph, M. D., Cohen, J. R., & Madden, D. J. (2024) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-024-01219-3 · Cited by 7
“Fluid cognition is more vulnerable to age-related decline than more knowl-edge-dependent (crystallized) abilities, such as vocabulary (Craik & Bialystok, 2006; Salthouse, 1996, 2011b).”
Background
Auditory distraction, time perception, and the role of age: ERP evidence from a large cohort study
Getzmann, S., Arnau, S., Gajewski, P. D., & Wascher, E. (2024) · Neurobiology of Aging · doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.09.012 · Cited by 4
“Finally, an overall slowing of cognitive processing is typically reported (Salthouse, 1996; 2017), which – in concert with attentional and working-memory related changes – could play a role in a reduced ability to deal with distracting stimuli with increasing age.”
Impact of behavior-based virtual training on active shooter incident preparedness in healthcare facilities
Liu, R., Becerik-Gerber, B., Lucas, G., & Busta, K. (2025) · International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction · doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2025.105225 · Cited by 5
Analyzing lexical-semantic networks in Alzheimer’s disease patients: eye-tracking study
Arias‐Trejo, N., Angulo‐Chavira, A. Q., González-González, M. M., et al. (2025) · Applied Psycholinguistics · doi:10.1017/s0142716425000025 · Cited by 5
“The use of an eye tracker, requiring only looking at images as words are heard, reduces the effect of slower cognitive processing in the elderly (Salthouse, 1996) and other impaired populations, minimizing the influence of the attentional and executive processes.”
Intersection challenges for older drivers: The impact of aging on visual cognition and driving efficiency at crossroads
Guo, F., Ai, Y., & Qu, S. (2025) · Traffic Injury Prevention · doi:10.1080/15389588.2025.2463615 · Cited by 5
“Older drivers often experience perceptual, cognitive, and physical impairments that significantly influence their driving abilities (Salthouse 1996; Sekuler et al. 2000).”
Long in the tooth for creativity? Differences in divergent thinking between young and older adults
Alfonso-Benlliure, V., Checa, I., & Meléndez, J. C. (2025) · Thinking Skills and Creativity · doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2025.101847 · Cited by 5
Double dissociation of a latent working memory process
Brown, G. G., Patt, V. M., Sawyer, J. D., et al. (2015) · Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/13803395.2015.1087467 · Cited by 5
“Other theorists have argued that WM capacity limitations are due to limited rehearsal capacity (Caplan & Waters, 1995), slowed processing speed (Salthouse, 1996), inefficient inhibitory mechanisms (Stoltzfus, Hasher, & Zacks, 1996), rapid WM trace decay (Cowan, 1999), or limited attentional focus…”
Background
Driving Simulator Studies of the Effectiveness of Countermeasures to Prevent Wrong-Way Crashes
Boot, W. R., Charness, N. H., Mitchum, A. L., Roque, N. A., Stothart, C. R., & Barajas, K. G. (2015) · Cited by 4
Effects of Working Memory Load and Age on the Comprehension of Passive Sentences
Liu, X. (2018) · International Journal of Psychological Studies · doi:10.5539/ijps.v10n3p13 · Cited by 5
Everyday Memory in Healthy Aging: Porous but Not Distorted
Sejunaite, K., Lanza, C., & Riepe, M. W. (2019) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2019.00153 · Cited by 6
Phasic alerting increases visual processing speed in amnestic mild cognitive impairment
Haupt, M., Joedecke, S., Srowig, A., Napiórkowski, N., Preul, C., Witte, O. W., & Finke, K. (2021) · Neurobiology of Aging · doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.01.031 · Cited by 6
Characteristics of Clustering and Switching in Verbal Fluency according to Healthy Elderly Group
Kim, J., & Choi, H. (2021) · Eon'eo cheong'gag jang'ae yeon'gu/Communication sciences & disorders · doi:10.12963/csd.21831 · Cited by 5
“우선, 노화로 인하여 인지적 처리 속도가 감소하며(Salthouse, 1996), 이러한 인지적 처리 속도 감소로 인해 단어 재인 속도 또한 지연되어 시간 제한을 가진 구어 유창성 과제의 수행력이 저하되는 것으로 해석할 수 있다(Burke & Shafto, 2004).”
Does Creativity Influence Visual Perception? - An Event-Related Potential Study With Younger and Older Adults
Csizmadia, P., Czigler, I., Nagy, B., & Gaál, Z. A. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.742116 · Cited by 6
“…1997; Gaál et al., 2007), which may be due to the general agerelated cognitive decline, caused by impaired inhibitory processes Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 13 October 2021 | Volume 12 | Article 742116 (Hasher and Zacks, 1988) and their slower processing speed (Salthouse, 1996).”
Background
Aging-Related Dissociation of Spatial and Temporal N400 in Sentence-Level Semantic Processing: Evidence From Source Analyses
An, S., Oh, S. J., Jun, S. B., et al. (2022) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2022.877235 · Cited by 5
“The researchers speculated that the delayed N400 reflects an aging-related decline in processing speed and a reduction in working memory capacity for both information retrieval and integration processes (Salthouse, 1992, 1996; Federmeier and Kutas, 2005; Wlotko et al., 2010).”
Background
The protective effect of educational level varies as a function of the difficulty of the memory task in ageing
Frick, A., Wright, H. R., Fay, S., Vanneste, S., Angel, L., Bouazzaoui, B., & Taconnat, L. (2022) · European Journal of Ageing · doi:10.1007/s10433-022-00724-z · Cited by 5
“The presentation was immediately followed by a letter-comparison task (XO; Salthouse 1996) for forty-five seconds to avoid any recency effect on the recall task.”
Method
Relationship between self-reported sleep and cognitive function: a specification curve analysis
Xu, J.-J., Lin, G.-J., Fang, F., & Yu, J. (2023) · Cognitive Processing · doi:10.1007/s10339-023-01133-5 · Cited by 8
“The effects of age and education on cognitive function are well-established in the literature 1 3 (e.g., Park and Reuter-Lorenz 2009; Salthouse 1996).”
Frailty and Processing Speed Performance at the Cusp of Midlife in CATSLife
Luna, M. G., Pahlen, S., Corley, R. P., Wadsworth, S. J., & Reynolds, C. A. (2023) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/gbad102 · Cited by 5
Metacognitive Comprehension Monitoring: Cognitive Abilities Explain Performance Differences Between Younger and Older Adults
Tibken, C., Richter, T., & Wannagat, W. (2023) · Scientific Studies of Reading · doi:10.1080/10888438.2023.2261572 · Cited by 9
“Age-associated declines in basic cognitive abilities such as processing speed or memory capacity in late adulthood (Salthouse, 1996) can also lead to difficulties in reading comprehension, especially with complex texts (De Beni et al., 2007).”
Background
The Interplay of Time-of-day and Chronotype Results in No General and Robust Cognitive Boost
Rey-Mermet, A., & Rothen, N. (2023) · Collabra Psychology · doi:10.1525/collabra.88337 · Cited by 6
Effects of age on the time course of syntactic priming in Chinese sentence production: an ERP study.
Cui, Y., & Zhang, Q.-F. (2024) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhad503 · Cited by 4

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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