RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Interindividual differences in cognitive aging may be explained by differences in cognitive reserve (CR) that are built up across the life span. A plausible but underresearched mechanism for these differences is that CR helps compensating cognitive decline by enhancing motivation to cope with challenging cognitive situations. Theories of motivation on cognition suggest that perceived capacity and intrinsic motivation may be key mediators in this respect. METHOD: In 506 older adults, we assessed CR proxies (education, occupation, leisure activities), motivation (perceived capacity, intrinsic motivation), and a global measure of cognitive functioning. RESULTS: Perceived capacity, but not intrinsic motivation, significantly mediated the relation between CR and cognitive performance. DISCUSSION: Complementary with neurobiological and cognitive processes, our results suggest a more comprehensive view of the role of motivational aspects built up across the life span in determining differences in cognitive performance in old age.
Assuntos
Cognição , Envelhecimento Cognitivo , Reserva Cognitiva/fisiologia , Acontecimentos que Mudam a Vida , Características de História de Vida , Motivação , Idoso , Envelhecimento Cognitivo/fisiologia , Envelhecimento Cognitivo/psicologia , Escolaridade , Feminino , Avaliação Geriátrica/métodos , Humanos , Individualidade , Atividades de Lazer , Longevidade , Masculino , Testes Neuropsicológicos , OcupaçõesRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Test if older people's memory assessment may be impacted by a medical environment and if memory self-efficacy (MSE) will moderate this effect. METHODS: We evaluated memory performance and MSE in 27 older adults in two different settings: a (control) university research environment, or a (proxy-medical) neuropsychological examination environment. RESULTS: The results showed a MSE × environment interaction effect on story-recall performance, with older people with low MSE performing less well in the proxy-medical situation than in the control situation and with elders with high MSE performing better in the proxy-medical situation than in the control situation. The same marginally significant effect for the word-span task was also found. CONCLUSIONS: Testing in a medical environment undermines the memory performance of older people with low MSE and boosts performance of older people with high MSE. Clinical Implications We encourage neuropsychologists to pay attention to psychosocial determinants of older people's performance when assessing their memory abilities.
