Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Age differences in concept formation.

Marilyn Hartman1, Brea C Stratton-Salib

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3270, USA. hartman@email.unc.edu

Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
|March 17, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The secure base script and the task of caring for elderly parents: implications for attachment theory and clinical practice.

Attachment & human development·2013
Same author

The effect of an exercise-based balance intervention on physical and cognitive performance for older adults: a pilot study.

Journal of geriatric physical therapy (2001)·2011
Same author

Cerebral oxygenation in wake and during sleep and its relationship to cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults without sleep disordered breathing.

The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences·2010
Same author

Tailoring protocols to successfully recruit and retain older adults in a longitudinal study of sleep and cognition.

Research in gerontological nursing·2010
Same author

Aging and visual short-term memory: effects of object type and information load.

Neuropsychology, development, and cognition. Section B, Aging, neuropsychology and cognition·2009
Same author

Perceived stress and everyday memory complaints among older adult women.

Anxiety, stress, and coping·2009
Same journal

Stability and accuracy of specific learning disability diagnoses from childhood to young adulthood.

Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology·2026
Same journal

Performance validity test failure rates among neuropsychological outpatients clinically referred for persistent Long COVID cognitive symptoms following mild SARS-CoV-2 disease severity.

Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology·2026
Same journal

Correction.

Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology·2026
Same journal

A 50-year personal odyssey through the story of learning disabilities: from primary school to adult LD diagnoses.

Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology·2026
Same journal

The gut-brain axis in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases: a systematic review of microbiota-derived biomarkers and novel therapeutic approaches.

Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology·2026
Same journal

Sex-specific associations between reproductive history and late-life cognitive outcomes.

Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology·2026
See all related articles

Older adults maintain concept identification but struggle with irrelevant details. Declines in selective attention, not abstraction, explain age-related concept formation deficits.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Age-related cognitive decline is a significant concern.
  • Understanding deficits in concept formation is crucial for healthy aging.
  • Previous research has not fully elucidated the source of these age differences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the source of age-related deficits in concept formation.
  • To differentiate between concept identification and selective attention in older adults.
  • To determine the relationship between selective attention, concept identification, and performance on a standardized concept formation task.

Main Methods:

  • Participants: Older and younger adults.
  • Measures: Concept Matching Test, selective attention tests, Sorting Test (a standardized measure of concept formation).

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Older adults demonstrated intact concept identification (generating abstract concepts).
  • Age differences emerged when irrelevant stimulus features were present.
  • Selective attention ability, not concept identification, predicted age-related declines on the Sorting Test.

Conclusions:

  • Reduced concept formation in older adults may be linked to declines in selective attention.
  • The capacity for abstraction remains intact in older age.
  • Targeting selective attention deficits could potentially mitigate age-related concept formation impairments.