Individual differences in stimulus intensity modulation of the elderly

The validity of the postulated perceptual style-personality dimension of modulation (augmenting vs. reducing) of stimulus intensity previously studied with young adults was examined in two elderly samples. It was hypothesized that in the elderly Stimulus Intensity Modulation (SIM) relates to degree of social engagement (assessed both behaviorally and by self-report), perceived life difficulty, attitudes toward death, and three previously validated behaviors (desired and obtained amount of sleep, future planning, and smoking). The Kinesthetic Aftereffect (KAE) task was used as the measure of SIM. Results from multivariate analyses of variance indicated a significant relationship between KAE and the validity variables. Additional correlational analysis indicate that there is a linear relationship between KAE and each of the domains, except attitudes toward death. Results from both studies are consistent with the views that KAE indexes the postulated SIM dimension and that the SIM approach can be applied fruitfully to the study of individual differences in the elderly.