The DOI matches its Crossref record; 79 of the 79 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Age and Flexible Thinking: An Experimental Demonstration of the Beneficial Effects of Increased Cognitively Stimulating Activity on Fluid Intelligence in Healthy Older Adults
Abstract
The disuse hypothesis of cognitive aging attributes decrements in fluid intelligence in older adults to reduced cognitively stimulating activity. This study experimentally tested the hypothesis that a period of increased mentally stimulating activities thus would enhance older adults' fluid intelligence performance. Participants (N=44, mean age 67.82) were administered pre- and post-test measures, including the fluid intelligence measure, Cattell's Culture Fair (CCF) test. Experimental participants engaged in diverse, novel, mentally stimulating activities for 10-12 weeks and were compared to a control condition. Results supported the hypothesis; the experimental group showed greater pre- to post-CCF gain than did controls (effect size d=0.56), with a similar gain on a spatial-perceptual task (WAIS-R Blocks). Even brief periods of increased cognitive stimulation can improve older adults' problem solving and flexible thinking.
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“They found that, when compared with a control group, the experimental group showed greater gains on a measure of fluid intelligence, suggesting that engaging in mentally stimulating activities for a short period is indeed beneficial to cognition.”
From Training Older Adults to Use Tablet Computers: Does It Enhance Cognitive Function? (2016) · cites this paper as Tranter and Koutstaal (2008)
In the citing paper
“For instance, research suggests that when individuals participate in a cognitive-training program, the beneficial effects on cognitive performance tend to be relatively narrow in scope, usually localized to the specific cognitive test that was trained (e.g., Ball et al., 2002; Willis et al., 2006; but see Tranter & Koutstaal, 2008).”
From Enrichment Effects on Adult Cognitive Development: Can the Functional Capacity of Older Adults Be Preserved and Enhanced? (2008) · cites this paper as Tranter & Koutstaal, 2008
In the citing paper
“The CCFT is considered a superior and more specific measure of fluid intelligence compared to measures using only matrix tasks [45,46]”
From Dual N-back working memory training in healthy adults: A randomized comparison to processing speed training. (2016) · cites this paper as [46]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Tranter, L. J., & Koutstaal, W.
- Affiliations
- University of Reading (GB)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Corresponding author
- Koutstaal, Wilma
- ORCID
- Koutstaal, Wilma
- Venue
- Aging Neuropsychology and Cognition
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2008-03-03
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 184-207
- ISSN
- 0928-9917 (ISSN-L)
- 1382-5585
- 1744-4128
- OpenAlex
- W2168605723
- Cited by
- 130
- References
- 75
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 9.85
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Aging Neuropsychology and Cognition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CentAUR (University of Reading) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational 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
- cognitive aging, fluid intelligence, cognitively stimulating activities, older adults, flexible thinking, problem solving
- MeSH terms
- Activities of Daily Living, Aged, Aging, Analysis of Variance, Humans, Intelligence, Intelligence Tests, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Thinking, Geriatric Assessment
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