Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 8, 2025

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
Published on: January 24, 2020
Cognitive Reserve Mediates the Relation between Neighborhood Socio-Economic Position and Cognitive Decline
Andreas Ihle1,2,3, Rainer Gabriel2,3,4, Michel Oris2,3
1Cognitive Aging Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Introduction:
We investigated the mediating role of leisure activity engagement as marker of cognitive reserve in the relation between neighborhood socio-economic position (SEP) and cognitive decline over 6 years.
Methods:
The study analyzed longitudinal data from 897 older adults who participated in the two waves (2011 and 2017) of the Vivre-Leben-Vivere (VLV) survey in Switzerland (M = 74.33 years in the first wave). Trail Making Test parts A and B were administered in both waves. Leisure activity engagement was assessed during interviews. Neighborhood SEP was derived from the Swiss Neighborhood Index of Socio-Economic Position (Swiss-SEP), provided by the Swiss National Cohort (SNC).
Results:
Latent change score modeling revealed that 42.5% of the relationship between higher neighborhood SEP and smaller cognitive decline was mediated via a higher frequency of leisure activities in the first wave.
Conclusion:
Neighborhood SEP constitutes an important contextual factor potentially influencing the pathways of cognitive reserve accumulation and, therefore, should be taken into account to better understand their effects on cognitive decline in old age.
More Related Videos
09:01A Method for Investigating Age-related Differences in the Functional Connectivity of Cognitive Control Networks Associated with Dimensional Change Card Sort Performance
Published on: May 7, 2014
10:13Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach
Published on: February 14, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Language and Cognition
Information Processing Approach
Cognitivism
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...
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Social Cognitive Perspective on Personality