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Cited by 7Cognitive Abilities and TestingAging and Gerontology ResearchRetirement, Disability, and Employment

The Precipitous Decline in Reasoning and Other Key Abilities with Age and Its Implications for Federal Judges

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Kaufman, Alan S.·2021·Journal of Intelligence
DOI 10.3390/jintelligence9040052PMC PMC8628958
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Abstract

U. S. Supreme Court justices and other federal judges are, effectively, appointed for life, with no built-in check on their cognitive functioning as they approach old age. There is about a century of research on aging and intelligence that shows the vulnerability of processing speed, fluid reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory to normal aging for men and women at all levels of education; even the maintained ability of crystallized knowledge declines in old age. The vulnerable abilities impact a person’s decision-making and problem solving; crystallized knowledge, by contrast, measures a person’s general knowledge. The aging-IQ data provide a rationale for assessing the key cognitive abilities of anyone who is appointed to the federal judiciary. Theories of multiple cognitive abilities and processes, most notably the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model, provide a well-researched blueprint for interpreting the plethora of findings from studies of IQ and aging. Sophisticated technical advances in test construction, especially in item-response theory and computerized-adaptive testing, allow for the development of reliable and valid theory-based tests of cognitive functioning. Such assessments promise to be a potentially useful tool for evaluating federal judges to assess the impact of aging on their ability to perform at a level their positions deserve, perhaps to measure their competency to serve the public intelligently. It is proposed that public funding be made available to appoint a panel of experts to develop and validate an array of computerized cognitive tests to identify those justices who are at risk of cognitive impairment.

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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 Kaufman 2021

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Authors
Kaufman, A. S.
Affiliations
Yale University (US)
Corresponding author
Kaufman, Alan S.
Venue
Journal of Intelligence
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2021-10-25
Volume
9
Issue
4
Pages
52
ISSN
2079-3200 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/jintelligence9040052
PMC
PMC8628958
OpenAlex
W3210395508
Cited by
7
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2023: 2
FWCI
0.45
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Intelligence (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Retirement, Disability, and Employment
Keywords
cognitive aging, fluid reasoning, processing speed, working memory, visuospatial processing, federal judges, Supreme Court justices, judicial appointments, cognitive assessment, computerized adaptive testing, item response theory, Cattell-Horn-Carroll model, cognitive impairment, judicial competence

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