Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Chapter 14 Intelligence and Aging


Chapter 14 explores the traditional approaches to intelligence including the biological, individual differences and also cognitive recognition processes. Preconceived notions that intelligence changes as you age and whether adults retain your intelligence ability as a age is explored in this chapter.
Traditional approaches to intelligence at three areas of biological research individual differences in the cognitive process from. The biological approach assumes that nearly everybody believes that intelligence resides in the brain virtually synonymous with the power of the brain. It’s long been debated by psychologists and neuroscientists, that use it or lose it theory.  Some researchers feel that there’s a genetic component to intelligence, that’s inherent with in us all. Others feel it’s a very widespread variation that is simply learned. The individual difference approach has long since served the field well. Scholars from this approach have provided systemic means for studying individual’s differences.

Age and intellectual abilities spans the study of the depth and breadth interesting intellectual changes during adulthood, and has increased dramatically in recent decades. The fundamental question that researches and struggled through the decades does intelligence decline with age. The concept of intelligence is thought to be intelligence that is measurable and constructive. Primarily is based on comparison and measurable by standard test scores. Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence's broke away from the psychometric tradition of intelligence in the early 80s. Gardner’s stated, “There is persuasive evidence for the existence of several relatively autonomous human intellectual competencies that can be fashioned and combined in the multiplicity of adaptive ways by individuals and cultures.”

At the University College of London, UK there show that there was a cognitive loss of brain function starting at age 45. For men and women aged 45-49, there was a 3.6% decline. They went on to state that "More research is now needed to help us fully understand how measurable changes in the brain can help us improve diagnosis of dementia."

This Chapter concludes with the four concepts; individual difference, expansion of  alternative concepts, individual circumstances, and mutli-factorial intelligence. All these concepts will enhance the adult learners that we’ll touch through our teachings currently, and in the future.
I come from a family of 3 grandparents that were all teachers and professors.  Three out of the 4 lived to the ripe old age of 99. I believe they held the key to healthy aged intelligence, keeping a simple lifestyle - such as eating a healthy diet, not smoking, and keeping blood pressure and cholesterol in check - can all reduce the risk of dementia. My thoughts, well, I feel that learning program such as Luminosity help keep the brain active and thinking. I guess we’ll see if it hold true as I age.





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