Adult Age Differences in Inhibitory Processes and their Predictive Validity for Fluid Intelligence

ABSTRACT

According to the inhibition-deficit hypothesis age differences in working memory capacity and fluid intelligence have been attributed to a decline in inhibitory efficiency. Conceptualizing inhibition as multifaceted, 88 participants (49 younger and 39 elderly) completed two versions of the negative priming paradigm (identification and localization), and two variants of the directed forgetting paradigm (listwise and itemwise). Two tasks of the Wechsler Intelligence Test with high loadings on general fluid intelligence (Gf) served as validation criteria. Results revealed task-specific and speed-independent inhibitory deficits in the elderly (lower negative priming in both paradigms; more intrusions in the directed forgetting tasks), as well as higher levels of repetition priming. Significant correlations between measures of inhibition and the Wechsler scores were found in both age groups. Results support the view of multiple inhibitory-like capabilities that play a central role in the decline of higher-order cognitive functions in old age.

Keywords:

• Cognitive aging
• Inhibition
• Working memory
• Negative priming
• Directed forgetting
• Modified Sternberg task

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful to Monique Reichert, Veit Neubach and Stephen Pleines for their assistance in recruitment of participants and the data collection process. We thank Klaus Oberauer for helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.

Notes

¹In many studies the terms positive priming and repetition priming are used interchangeably. In order to avoid misunderstandings we will refer to repetition priming as the experimental condition in which the same target stimulus is repeated in the prime and probe display and consequently the same answer is required two times in a row (attended repetition condition). In contrast the term positive priming will just indicate the direction of the difference score that means facilitation of responses compared to the baseline condition.