Sensory functioning and intelligence in old age: a strong connection.
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Publication Details
Output type: Journal article
Author list: Lindenberger, Baltes
Publisher: American Psychological Association
Publication year: 1994
Journal: Psychology and Aging (0882-7974)
Volume number: 9
Issue number: 3
Start page: 339
End page: 55
Number of pages: -283
ISSN: 0882-7974
eISSN: 1939-1498
Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)
Unpaywall Data
Open access status: green
Full text URL: https://pure.mpg.de/pubman/item/item_2517927_6/component/file_2522141/UL_Sensory_1994.pdf
Abstract
Relations among age, sensory functioning (i.e., visual and auditory acuity), and intelligence were examined in a heterogeneous, age-stratified sample of old and very old individuals (N = 156, M age = 84.9 years, age range = 70-103). Intelligence was assessed with 14 tests measuring 5 cognitive abilities (speed, reasoning, memory, knowledge, and fluency). Together, visual and auditory acuity accounted for 49.2% of the total and 93.1% of the age-related reliable variance in intelligence. The data were consistent with structural models in which age differences in intelligence, including speed, are completely mediated by differences in vision and hearing. Results suggest that sensory functioning is a strong late-life predictor of individual differences in intellectual functioning. Explanations are discussed, including the possibility that visual and sensory acuity are indicators of the physiological integrity of the aging brain (common cause hypothesis).
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