| Title |
The Myth of Cognitive Decline: Non‐Linear Dynamics of Lifelong Learning
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Topics in Cognitive Science, January 2014
|
| DOI | 10.1111/tops.12078 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Michael Ramscar, Peter Hendrix, Cyrus Shaoul, Petar Milin, Harald Baayen |
| Abstract |
As adults age, their performance on many psychometric tests changes systematically, a finding that is widely taken to reveal that cognitive information-processing capacities decline across adulthood. Contrary to this, we suggest that older adults'; changing performance reflects memory search demands, which escalate as experience grows. A series of simulations show how the performance patterns observed across adulthood emerge naturally in learning models as they acquire knowledge. The simulations correctly identify greater variation in the cognitive performance of older adults, and successfully predict that older adults will show greater sensitivity to fine-grained differences in the properties of test stimuli than younger adults. Our results indicate that older adults'; performance on cognitive tests reflects the predictable consequences of learning on information-processing, and not cognitive decline. We consider the implications of this for our scientific and cultural understanding of aging. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 126 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 25 | 20% |
| United Kingdom | 16 | 13% |
| Netherlands | 7 | 6% |
| Canada | 6 | 5% |
| Australia | 3 | 2% |
| Italy | 2 | 2% |
| Taiwan | 2 | 2% |
| Iceland | 1 | <1% |
| Norway | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 6 | 5% |
| Unknown | 57 | 45% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 90 | 71% |
| Scientists | 23 | 18% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 10 | 8% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 3 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 478 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 22 | 5% |
| United Kingdom | 10 | 2% |
| Germany | 3 | <1% |
| Canada | 3 | <1% |
| Netherlands | 2 | <1% |
| Switzerland | 2 | <1% |
| Brazil | 2 | <1% |
| Belgium | 2 | <1% |
| South Africa | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 11 | 2% |
| Unknown | 420 | 88% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 100 | 21% |
| Researcher | 76 | 16% |
| Student > Master | 51 | 11% |
| Student > Bachelor | 34 | 7% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 32 | 7% |
| Other | 123 | 26% |
| Unknown | 62 | 13% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 175 | 37% |
| Linguistics | 46 | 10% |
| Social Sciences | 29 | 6% |
| Neuroscience | 28 | 6% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 23 | 5% |
| Other | 90 | 19% |
| Unknown | 87 | 18% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 405. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 19 March 2024.
All research outputs
#74,516
of 26,017,215 outputs
Outputs from Topics in Cognitive Science
#1
of 665 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#573
of 326,490 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Topics in Cognitive Science
#1
of 6 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 26,017,215 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 665 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 12.4. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 326,490 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 6 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than all of them