Abstract
This present study investigated whether older adults' ability to accurately discriminate between deductive and probabilistic reasoning tasks declines with age, and whether this ability correlates with cognitive ability as measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test. Seventy-eight adults (65–92 years) were tested for their abilities to carry out deductive and probabilistic reasoning. Pearson correlations were conducted to determine the relationships among age, MoCA, deductive reasoning, probabilistic reasoning, and overall discrimination ability. Separate single-factor analyses of variance were used to determine differences across age groups (65–74, 75–84, 85–94) on the MoCA, deductive and probabilistic reasoning, and overall discrimination ability. Ability to discriminate between the two tasks did not decline with age, nor did they correlate with scores of cognitive ability as measured by the MoCA. Furthermore, those with MoCA scores showing mild cognitive impairment appeared to retain all of these abilities. This leads to the conclusion that reasoning abilities may be retained while general cognitive skills decline. This in turn supports the notion that reasoning, both deductive and probabilistic, may be more domain specific than they are often considered to be.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 225-236 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Dec 2016 |
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Do Deductive and Probabilistic Reasoning Abilities Decline in Older Adults? / Tommerdahl, Jodi M.; McKee, Will; Nesbitt, Monica; Ricard, Mark D.; Biggan, John R.; Ray, Christopher T.; Gatchel, Robert J.
In: Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, Vol. 21, No. 4, 01.12.2016, p. 225-236.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Do Deductive and Probabilistic Reasoning Abilities Decline in Older Adults?
AU - Tommerdahl, Jodi M.
AU - McKee, Will
AU - Nesbitt, Monica
AU - Ricard, Mark D.
AU - Biggan, John R.
AU - Ray, Christopher T.
AU - Gatchel, Robert J.
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - This present study investigated whether older adults' ability to accurately discriminate between deductive and probabilistic reasoning tasks declines with age, and whether this ability correlates with cognitive ability as measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test. Seventy-eight adults (65–92 years) were tested for their abilities to carry out deductive and probabilistic reasoning. Pearson correlations were conducted to determine the relationships among age, MoCA, deductive reasoning, probabilistic reasoning, and overall discrimination ability. Separate single-factor analyses of variance were used to determine differences across age groups (65–74, 75–84, 85–94) on the MoCA, deductive and probabilistic reasoning, and overall discrimination ability. Ability to discriminate between the two tasks did not decline with age, nor did they correlate with scores of cognitive ability as measured by the MoCA. Furthermore, those with MoCA scores showing mild cognitive impairment appeared to retain all of these abilities. This leads to the conclusion that reasoning abilities may be retained while general cognitive skills decline. This in turn supports the notion that reasoning, both deductive and probabilistic, may be more domain specific than they are often considered to be.
AB - This present study investigated whether older adults' ability to accurately discriminate between deductive and probabilistic reasoning tasks declines with age, and whether this ability correlates with cognitive ability as measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test. Seventy-eight adults (65–92 years) were tested for their abilities to carry out deductive and probabilistic reasoning. Pearson correlations were conducted to determine the relationships among age, MoCA, deductive reasoning, probabilistic reasoning, and overall discrimination ability. Separate single-factor analyses of variance were used to determine differences across age groups (65–74, 75–84, 85–94) on the MoCA, deductive and probabilistic reasoning, and overall discrimination ability. Ability to discriminate between the two tasks did not decline with age, nor did they correlate with scores of cognitive ability as measured by the MoCA. Furthermore, those with MoCA scores showing mild cognitive impairment appeared to retain all of these abilities. This leads to the conclusion that reasoning abilities may be retained while general cognitive skills decline. This in turn supports the notion that reasoning, both deductive and probabilistic, may be more domain specific than they are often considered to be.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85007089895&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/jabr.12056
DO - 10.1111/jabr.12056
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85007089895
VL - 21
SP - 225
EP - 236
JO - Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research
JF - Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research
SN - 1071-2089
IS - 4
ER -