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Declines in divergent thinking with age: cross-sectional, longitudinal, and cross-sequential analyses
R R McCrae1, D Arenberg, P T Costa
1Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland.
Psychology and Aging
|June 1, 1987
Summary
Cognitive abilities, specifically divergent thinking, increase in men until age 40, then decline. Longitudinal studies confirm this age-related decrease in creative thinking skills.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Gerontology
Background:
- Divergent thinking is crucial for creativity and problem-solving.
- Previous cross-sectional studies suggested age-related declines in cognitive abilities.
- Limited longitudinal data existed on divergent thinking across the adult lifespan.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal changes in divergent thinking abilities in men.
- To examine how age impacts different facets of divergent thinking.
- To compare cross-sectional and longitudinal findings on cognitive aging.
Main Methods:
- Administered six divergent thinking tests to 825 men (aged 17-101) between 1959-1972.
- Conducted repeat testing on a subset (n=278) after a 6-year interval.
- Employed cross-sectional, repeated measures, and cross-sequential analyses.
Main Results:
- Cross-sectional analyses revealed a curvilinear trend: scores increased up to age 40, then declined.
- Repeated measures analyses (ages 33-74) generally supported this age-related decline.
- Cross-sequential analyses indicated a decline in divergent thinking for all age cohorts over time.
Conclusions:
- Longitudinal data confirm a decline in divergent thinking abilities with advancing age in men.
- The observed decline is not solely attributable to reduced response speed.
- These findings have implications for understanding cognitive aging and creativity across the lifespan.