Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 14, 2025
07:01
Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
Published on: September 20, 2020
5.1K
More Than Selection Effects: Volunteering Is Associated With Benefits in Cognitive Functioning
Ben Lennox Kail1, Dawn C Carr2
1Department of Sociology, Gerontology Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta.
Summary
Volunteering benefits cognitive function, even after accounting for cognitive selection into volunteer roles. This suggests that engaging in volunteer activities can enhance overall cognitive function and self-rated memory.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Volunteering is a recognized lifestyle behavior that enhances cognitive resilience.
- Previous research has not fully explored the role of cognitive functioning in predicting volunteer engagement (selection into volunteering).
- Understanding cognitive selection is crucial for explaining the superior cognitive performance observed in volunteers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of cognition-related selection on the association between formal volunteering and cognitive function.
- To examine the relationship between formal volunteering and overall cognitive function.
- To assess the impact of formal volunteering on self-rated memory.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Health and Retirement Study.
- Assessed the association between formal volunteering and cognitive function, controlling for cognitive selection.
- Examined two cognitive measures: overall cognitive function and self-rated memory.
Main Results:
- Cognitive selection accounted for 4.9% to 29% of the effect of volunteering on cognitive function.
- Formal volunteering demonstrated beneficial effects on cognitive function, even after accounting for cognitive selection.
- Positive associations were observed across all cognitive measures examined.
Conclusions:
- A portion of the positive association between volunteering and cognitive function is attributable to selection.
- Formal volunteering offers cognitive benefits independent of selection.
- Volunteer-based interventions show promise for improving cognitive functioning.
Related Concept Videos
01:38Cognitive Dissonance
36.7K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
36.7K
01:29The Influence of Affect on Cognition
205
Positive affect significantly influences cognitive processes, including evaluation, memory, creativity, and social judgments. Compared to negative affect, positive emotional states promote more favorable interpretations of stimuli, cognitive flexibility, and heuristic processing. These effects highlight emotions' powerful role in shaping how individuals perceive, remember, and interact with the world.Influence on Evaluation and AttributionWhen individuals experience positive affect, they are...
205
01:27Language and Cognition
612
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
612
01:30Cognitive Development During Adulthood
631
Cognitive development continues throughout adulthood, undergoing significant shifts across early, middle, and late stages. Individual transition occurs from adolescent idealism to pragmatic and adaptable thinking in early adulthood. During this period, individuals learn to integrate personal beliefs with the recognition that other perspectives are equally valid. Exposure to the complexities of modern society, diverse experiences, and higher education contribute to this adaptive thought process,...
631
01:17Cognitivism
2.5K
Cognitive psychology emerged as a significant field in the mid-20th century. It focused on understanding humans' internal mental processes. This approach emphasizes how people perceive, remember, think, and solve problems—elements critical to human cognition.
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process...
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process...
2.5K
01:30Biological Influences on Intelligence
400
Intelligence is often thought to be linked to brain size, but the relationship is more complex than that. While brain size does correlate modestly with some abilities, like verbal skills, the connection is weaker for others, such as spatial reasoning. Other factors, like brain structure, also play crucial roles. For instance, despite Einstein's smaller-than-average brain, his parietal cortex, which is involved in spatial reasoning, was 15% wider, suggesting that neural density might matter...
400