TY  - GEN
A1  - Kliegl, Reinhold
A1  - Smith, Jacqui
A1  - Baltes, Paul B.
T1  - Testing-the-limits and the study of adult age differences in cognitive plasticity of a mnemonic skill
N2  - Investigated the range and limits of cognitive reserve capacity as a general approach to the understanding of age differences in cognitive functioning. Testing-the-limits is proposed as a research strategy, Data are reported from 2 training studies involving old (65 to 83 years old) and young adults (19 to 29 years old). The training, designed to engineer an expertise in serial word recall, involved instruction and practice in the Method of Loci. Substantial plasticity was evident in pretest to posttest comparisons. Participants raised their serial word recall several times above that of pretest baseline. Age-differential limits in reserve capacity were evident in amount of training gain but not in responses to conditions of increased test difficulty (speeded stimulus presentation). Group differences were magnified by the training to such a degree that age distributions barely overlapped at posttests. Testing-the-limits offers promise in terms of understanding the extent and nature of cognitive plasticity.
T3  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 153 
Y1  - 1989
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-40311
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Kliegl, Reinhold
T1  - Kognitive Plastizität und altersbedingte Grenzen am Beispiel des Erwerbs einer Gedächtnistechnik
T1  - Cognitive plasticity and age-related limits illustrated for the acquisition of a mnemonic skill
N2  - Die Bedeutung kognitiver Entwicklungskapazität (Plastizität) und ihrer altersabhängigen Grenzen für Theorien kognitiven Alters wird thematisiert. Für kognitive Basisprozesse wird erwartet, daß die durch Training umgesetzte Entwicklungskapazität älterer Menschen zwar ausreicht, die Ausgangsleistung junger Erwachsener zu übertreffen, daß aber aufgrund altersbedingter Grenzen der Entwicklungskapazität nur sehr wenige ältere Erwachsene das Leistungsniveau trainierter junger Erwachsener erreichen werden. Am Beispiel eines Gedächtnistrainingsprogrammes zur Erhöhung der Merkfähigkeit für Wortlisten werden zwei Forschungsstrategien vorgestellt: (a) das Training von sehr leistungsfähigen älteren Erwachsenen und (b) Längsschnitt-Einzelfall-Studien. Die experimentellen Befunde bestätigten die theoretischen Erwartungen. Zwar waren die Leistungen der besten älteren Erwachsenen etwa doppelt so hoch wie die untrainierter junger Erwachsener, aber die durch das Training aufgedeckten Altersverluste konnten auch in bis zu 75 weiteren Übungsstunden nicht behoben werden.
N2  - The relevance of developmental reserve capacity (plasticity) and associated age-related limits for theories of cognitive aging is discussed. For basic cognitive mechanisms, older adults' developmental reserve capacity is expected to be sufficient to surpass young adults' baseline performance. Aging-related limits of this reserve, however, will allow only very few older adults to achieve levels of performance characteristic of trained young adults. Two research strategies (designed to engineer a mnemonic skill for serial recall of words) are described: (a) training of positively selected, mentally very fit older adults and (b) longitudinal single case studies. Experimental results were in agreement with the theoretical expectations. The best older adults scored about twice as high as untrained young adults but even with up to 75 additional experimental sessions the age difference generated by the cognitive intervention was not overcome.
T3  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 154 
KW  - plasticity
KW  - reserve capacity
KW  - testing-the-limits
KW  - adult age differences
KW  - mnemonic skill
KW  - memory
Y1  - 1989
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-40321
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Baltes, Paul B.
A1  - Sowarka, Doris
A1  - Kliegl, Reinhold
T1  - Cognitive training research on fluid intelligence in old age : what can older adults achieve by themselves?
N2  - Cognitive research on the plasticity of fluid intelligence has demonstrated that older adults benefit markedly from guided practice in cognitive skills and problem-solving strategies. We examined to what degree older adults are capable by themselves of achieving similar practice gains, focusing on the fluid ability of figural relations. A sample of 72 healthy older adults was assigned randomly to three conditions: control, tutor-guided training, self-guided training. Training time and training materials were held constant for the two training conditions. Posttraining performances were analyzed using a transfer of training paradigm in terms of three indicators: correct responses, accuracy, and level of item difficulty. The training programs were effective and produced a significant but narrow band of within-ability transfer. However, there was no difference between the two training groups. Older adults were shown to be capable of producing gains by themselves that were comparable to those obtained following tutor-guided training in the nature of test-relevant cognitive skills.
T3  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 152 
Y1  - 1989
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-40297
ER  -