Psychological aspects of ageing

Information processing and psychomotor efficiency, utilized in the performance of most life skills, are among the most studied constructs in the psychology of ageing. Psychological research conducted over the past 30 years has established clear ‘patterns’ of age-related change in cognitive and motor skills, identifying tasks and situations where the performance of older people (as measured by speed and accuracy) is particularly vulnerable. On the other hand, it is clear that adaptive age-related changes in the strategies adopted to complete tasks serve to mask or reduce deficits. Furthermore, recent studies have made substantial contributions to our understanding of how individuals can develop and preserve cognitive and motor skills in later life. Intellectual stimulation in early life, and cognitive training in later life, have both been shown to enhance the cognitive performance of older people, delaying or even reversing age-related decline. Evidence is also growing of considerable psychomotor plasticity in later life, with recent results showing that age need not be a barrier to the acquisition and maintenance of complex new psychomotor skills. Overall, evidence from laboratory and, more recently, neuroimaging studies indicates that psychological ageing is characterized by adaptation, compensation and, increasingly, plasticity.