Developmental Influences on Adult Intelligence: The Seattle Longitudinal Study - Hardcover

Schaie, K. Warner

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195156730 ISBN 13: 9780195156737

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2005

Synopsis

Adult cognitive development is one of the most important, yet neglected aspects in the study of human psychology. Although the development of cognition and intelligence during childhood and adolescence is of great interest to researchers, educators, and parents, they assume that this development stops progressing in any significant manner when people reach adulthood. In fact, cognition and intelligence do continue to progress in very significant ways. In Developmental Influences on Adult Intelligence, Warner Schaie lays out the reasons why we should continue to study cognitive development in adulthood, and presents the history, latest data, and results from the Seattle Longitudinal Study (SLS), which now extends to over 45 years. The SLS is organized around five questions: Does intelligence change uniformly throughout adulthood, or are there different life-course-ability patterns? At what age and at what magnitude can decrement in ability be reliably detected? What are the patterns and magnitude of generational differences? What accounts for individual differences in age-related change in adulthood? Can the intellectual decline that increases with age be reversed by educational intervention? From his work on the SLS, Schaie derived a conceptual model that he presents in this volume. The model represents his view on the factors that influence cognitive development throughout the lifespan, and provides a rationale for the various influences that he investigated--genetic factors, early and current family environment, life styles, the experience of chronic disease, and various personality attributes. The data in this volume include the 1998 longitudinal cycle of the SLS. In light of both new data and revised analyses, psychometric and neuropsychological assessments have been linked in long-term data to aid in the early identification of risk for dementia in later life. Schaie also presents new data and conclusions on the impact of personality on cognition. The volume includes correlation matrices and web-access information for select data sets that might be useful for secondary analysis or as examples for exercises in methods classes. Developmental Influences on Adult Intelligence is an important resource for researchers and students in developmental, cognitive, and social psychology.

About this title

About the Author

K. Warner Schaie is the Evan Pugh Professor of Human Development and Psychology at the Pennsylvania State University. He also holds an appointment as Affiliate Professor of Psychiatry and behavioral Science at the University of Washington. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Washington, an honorary D. Phil from the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, and an honorary Sci D. from West Virginia University. He has authored or edited more than 250 articles and chapters on the psychology of aging, and 42 books, including the textbook, Adult Development and Aging (with S.L. Willis), and the Handbook of Psychology of Aging (with J.E. Birren), both now in their fifth editions.

Review

"There are probably no books that can compare with this one in the field of adult intelligence. The Seattle Longitudinal Study has been going on for 49 years under the direction of the principle researcher, Dr. Schaie. Everything you wanted to know about intellectual development and changes in adulthood is here. It is fascinating reading and is ful of statistical analysis. This book is comprehensive and readers will not be disappointed." --Doody's

"This work represents an extraordinary odyssey in the field of human cognition. Dr. Schaie's lifetime effort in the longitudinal study is unparalleled. This publication gives the history of a project that has lasted decades, its ups and downs, and its surprising conclusions about what happens to human intellect over the life span. I recommend this work to all those interested it what happens to their intellect over time, as well as to students, physicians, and psychologists treating patients and performing gerontologic research." --Jerome Yesavage, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University

"Developmental Influences on Adult Intelligence is the most recent summary of findings from the Seattle Longitudinal Study. This remarkable study, initiated in 1956, is arguably the longest running and most comprehensive examination of intellectual aging available today. The present volume is a follow-up to Professor Schaie's 1996 monograph Intellectual Development in Adulthood. In addition to reviewing the design and method of the SLS and updating cross-sectional and longitudinal findings to include results from the 1998 longitudinal cycle, the present volume breaks new ground with an extensive examination of how environmental, health-related, and familial influences affect intellectual development across adulthood. This wealth of new information will be of interest to all gerontologists." --David Hultsch, Director, Centre on Aging, University of Victoria

"Developmental Influences on Adult Intelligence is a tour de force. The Seattle Longitudinal Study, unparalleled in its comprehensive account of intellectual change across adulthood, played a critical role in the scientific understanding of intelligence. In this volume, K. W. Schaie, who started the study and centrally led the field, synthesizes decades of research into a highly readable story about the gains and losses associated with intellectual performance as people age, the roles played by personality, family, and health in age-related changes, and the challenges of conducting longitudinal research. This volume is essential reading for anyone who desires a nuanced account of intellectual aging." --Laura L. Carstensen, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University

"Understanding the intelligence of the mind across the stages of life and across historical contexts is central to the science of human aging. Schaie's longitudinal study, spanning close to 50 years and several generations, defines the field and, in addition, illustrates how a creative longitudinal scholar is able to rejuvenate his work by extensions in theory and method. This book will be a classic!" --Dr. Paul B. Baltes, Sekretariat Professor, Max Planck Institute for Human Development

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0195156730
• ISBN 13: 9780195156737
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 512