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Cited by 730Aging and Gerontology ResearchCognitive Abilities and TestingDementia and Cognitive Impairment Research

Trajectories of normal cognitive aging

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Salthouse, Timothy A.·2019·Psychology and Aging
DOI 10.1037/pag0000288PMC PMC6367038
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Abstract

Although sensitive detection of pathological cognitive aging requires accurate information about the trajectory of normal cognitive aging, prior research has revealed inconsistent patterns of age-cognition relations with cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons. Age trends in four cognitive domains were compared in over 5,000 adults with cross-sectional data, and in almost 1,600 adults with three-occasion longitudinal data. Quasi-longitudinal comparisons, which are similar to cross-sectional comparisons in that there is no prior test experience and are similar to longitudinal comparisons in that the participants are from the same birth cohorts, were also reported. The age trends in quasi-longitudinal comparisons more closely resembled those in cross-sectional comparisons than those in longitudinal comparisons, which suggests that, at least up until about age 65, age-cognition relations in longitudinal comparisons are distorted by prior test experience. Results from cross-sectional and quasi-longitudinal comparisons, which can be assumed to have minimal test experience effects, imply that normal cognitive aging is characterized by nearly linear declines from early adulthood in speed, and accelerating declines in memory and reasoning. However, vocabulary knowledge increased until the decade of the 60's in all three types of comparisons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

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  • The present study conforms with the results of a huge body of prior research, extending these findings to data obtained in 2023, post-pandemic, on the WAIS-5.

    “The present study, using cross-sectional methodology, conforms with the results of a huge body of prior research (Kaufman 2021; Salthouse 2019), extending these findings to data obtained in 2023, post-pandemic, on the latest version of Wechsler’s adult scales, the WAIS-5.”

    From Cognitive Aging Revisited: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the WAIS-5 (2025) · cites this paper as Salthouse 2019

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Sorted by citations

Authors
Salthouse, T. A.
Affiliations
University of Virginia (US)
Corresponding author
Salthouse, Timothy A.
Venue
Psychology and Aging
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
2019-02
Volume
34
Issue
1
Pages
17-24
ISSN
  • 0882-7974 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1498
DOI
10.1037/pag0000288
PMC
PMC6367038
OpenAlex
W2889677374
Cited by
730
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 108 · 2025: 130 · 2024: 139 · 2023: 115 · 2022: 96 · 2021: 84 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 15
FWCI
57.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Psychology and Aging (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Aging (RO1AG024270)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
Keywords
normal cognitive aging, cognitive trajectories, cognitive speed, memory decline, reasoning, vocabulary, birth cohort effects
MeSH terms
Cognitive Aging, Mental Status and Dementia Tests, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Cognition, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Memory, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Problem Solving, Cohort Studies

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