Diane Papalia-Finlay

The Nature of the Life Concept across the Life-Span

In this study of people ranging from six to over sixty-five years of age, a high frequency of animistic responses was found in all ages examined. While a significant age effect was noted in the ability to categorize animate objects accurately, animisitc responding was generally unrelated to logical classification ability or to analytic cognitive style. For eleven- to thirteen-year-olds, however, a significant relationship between animism and both cognitive style and classification ability existed. An interpretation of the results which found high levels of animistic thinking beyond adolescence does not support Piagetian theory. Rather, adults may respond animistically because of emotional attachments which they have formed to certain meaningful physical objects.

Cross-sectional analysis of cognitive functioning across the life-span.

Performance on Piagetian logical concept tasks, standardized intellectual measures, and measures of memory ability, was assessed cross-sectionally. One-hundred-sixty individuals participated. Differential item difficulty patterns were noted on the Piagetian tasks. Curvilinear trends were evident for class inclusion, combinatorial reasoning, and conservation of surface area. Factorial analyses of variance revealed significant chronological age main effects for all tasks except transitivity of weight. Covariance analyses indicated that educational level is generally more closely related to logical concept performance than is chronological age. Dimensional analyses revealed separate factors for general intelligence, classification, relations, and conservation. The youngest and oldest age groups has similar factor patterns; these differed from those of the mature participants.

Continuing Education in Later Adulthood: Implications for Program Development for Elderly Guest Students

While more and more institutions of higher education are offering cost-free continuing education programs to older men and women, the enrollment of this target population is quite low. This study was conducted to identify factors that would positively influence the decisions of individuals over sixty years of age to participate in such programs. Sixty-five white predominately upper middle-class, highly educated (X̅ = 16.92 years of schooling) women aged sixty years and over (X̅ = 68.80) were given a questionnaire concerning attitudes toward continuing education. The majority (86%) indicated a high level of interest in taking geology, political science, world and art history, music, literature, and language courses. In addition, 85 percent preferred to participate in learning situations that included younger and older individuals; 58 percent reported interest in having a companion enroll with them; 48 percent preferred no specific learning environments (i.e., lecture, discussion, or workshop); and 75 percent reported that family members did not suggest that they enroll in continuing education classes. It is suggested that the high level of interest in taking courses offered by institutions of higher education displayed by the women surveyed is because of personal experience with university level education in young adulthood.

Training cognitive functioning in the elderly--inability to replicate previous findings.

This study was designed to replicate Hornblum and Overtons study which trained conservation ability in elderly women [1]. Thirty-four elderly women volunteers were given a pretest battery of area and volume conservation tasks; participants also completed an extensive life history questionnaire. Conservation scores were the highest yet recorded by elderly participants. Thirty-two women received perfect conservation scores; only two were “partial conservers”; no participant was a “nonconserver.” Consequently, training was not implemented. These women had high levels of education, good health, adequate income, satisfying leisure activities, and positive attitudes about aging. Advanced chronological age does not guarantee poor conservation performance. The mechanism(s) whereby life history variables influence cognitive functioning needs to be determined.

ATTITUDES OF OLDER WOMEN TOWARD CONTINUING ADULT EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL: IMPLICATIONS FOR PROGRAM CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Current low rates of participation by elderly people in formal learning situations may be improved by developing programs that consider their attitudes, learning interests, and needs. This study was conducted to examine the attitudes of potential participants in continuing education programs concerning (1) factors that would reduce anxiety and (2) appropriate educational experiences given the abilities and learning needs of the target group. Twenty‐seven white predominantly upper middle‐class, highly educated women aged 65 years and over were given a questionnaire concerning attitudes toward continuing education. Most (89%) indicated an interest in taking humanities classes (i.e., history, literature, music, languages, and current affairs). In addition, 55% preferred the lecture format; 81% preferred mixed ages in classes; 48% reported interest in having a companion enroll with them; and 65% reported that family members did not suggest that they enroll. Highly educated elderly women appear interested in t...

The life concept in female college students: An exploratory analysis.

In the present study a two-part animism questionnaire was devised and administered to 200 female undergraduate students who had fairly extensive course backgrounds in science. When these students were asked to classify each of 15 objects as “living” or “nonliving,” 67% (N=134) gave evidence of apparent animistic thought. Yet when the subjects were asked to choose which of several statements reflected their own definition of living, 66% (N=132) claimed that “only plants and animals are living.” Scientific background did not relate to performance on either section of the questionnaire. Results indicate that although the primary orientation of many young adults toward the word living is not a biological one, most college students areable to classify stimuli according to this criterion.

No Two Fields Ever Grow Grass the Same Way: Assessment of Conservation Abilities in the Elderly.

Within the past ten years, standard cognitive assessment procedures, including Piagetian tasks, have often been used with the elderly. The present paper examines several possible difficulties in interpreting the results of studies which employ Piagetian tasks, especially conservation tasks, with older individuals. First, it is noted that Piagets clinical method allows more flexibility in the asesssment of competence than do the more quantifiable, American techniques. However, most of the research studies suggesting a cognitive decline with age have utilized rigid assessment procedures. Second, the paper examines the possibility of task misinterpretation by the elderly. Examples from recent research, in which older persons stressed reality-based problem solving strategies rather than the more abstract strategies traditionally associated with Piagetian tasks, are provided. The possibility of cognitive change instead of cognitive decline with age is discussed, and the importance of utilizing procedures which can measure this change is stressed.