Utilization of path-analytic procedures to investigate the role of processing resources in cognitive aging

Data from two batteries of tests administered to 129 and 233 adults, ranging from 20 to 79 years of age, were analyzed to explore the viability of models postulating that age differences in the quantity or efficiency of processing resources are responsible for many of the age differences observed in cognitive functioning. Path-analysis procedures were used to estimate the direct and indirect, or resource-mediated, effects of age on cognitive performance. Results, with simple speed and memory measures serving as the indexes of processing resources, indicated that there was little support for a strong resource model, and evidence derived from a weak resource model suggested that resource-mediated contributions to age differences are small, relative to those not mediated by processing resources.