The Inhibition-Deficit Hypothesis: A Possible Neurological Mechanism for Age-Related Changes in the Formation of Problem-Solving Set

In the process of problem-solving, a limiting of possible solutions often occurs which causes subjects to prematurely narrow their problem-solving options. This tendency is called problem-solving set. It is possible that there is an underlying neurological mechanism which regulates this process. It has been shown that the frontal lobes play a role in the inhibition of irrelevant information, suggesting that they may be involved in the formation of set. Because the frontal lobes are suspected to degenerate somewhat with age, the elderly may have less of a tendency towards problem-solving set than young adults. In the current study, set was induced trough the use of anagrams (tasks which require the subject to unscramble a scrambled word to produce a common word). Young adults were compared to elderly adults. Set-forming anagrams were all solvable by the same strategy, and a target anagram (which appeared after the set-forming anagrams) was solvable by a different strategy. The number of set-forming anagrams given was varied, and problem-solving set was measured by comparing latencies between set-forming anagrams and the target anagram. It was found that anagrams are effective at inducing problem-solving set, that the intensity of problem-solving set increases with set size, and that there may indeed be a neurological explanation for age-related differences in the formation of problem-solving set

Accounting for expert performance: the devil is in the details

The deliberate practice view has generated a great deal of scientific and popular interest in expert performance. At the same time, empirical evidence now indicates that deliberate practice, while certainly important, is not as important as Ericsson and colleagues have argued it is. In particular, we (Hambrick, Oswald, Altmann, Meinz, Gobet, & Campitelli, 2014) found that individual differences in accumulated amount of deliberate practice accounted for about one-third of the reliable variance in performance in chess and music, leaving the majority of the reliable variance unexplained and potentially explainable by other factors. Ericsson's (2014) defense of the deliberate practice view, though vigorous, is undercut by contradictions, oversights, and errors in his arguments and criticisms, several of which we describe here. We reiterate that the task now is to develop and rigorously test falsifiable theories of expert performance that take into account as many potentially relevant constructs as possible

Gender and sexual orientation differences in cognition across adulthood : age is kinder to women than to men regardless of sexual orientation

Despite some evidence of greater age-related deterioration of the brain in males than in females, gender differences in rates of cognitive aging have proved inconsistent. The present study employed web-based methodology to collect data from people aged 20-65 years (109,612 men; 88,509 women). As expected, men outperformed women on tests of mental rotation and line angle judgment, whereas women outperformed men on tests of category fluency and object location memory. Performance on all tests declined with age but significantly more so for men than for women. Heterosexuals of each gender generally outperformed bisexuals and homosexuals on tests where that gender was superior; however, there were no clear interactions between age and sexual orientation for either gender. At least for these particular tests from young adulthood to retirement, age is kinder to women than to men, but treats heterosexuals, bisexuals, and homosexuals just the same

Musical experience, musical knowledge and age effects on memory for music

M.S.Timothy A. Salthous

Ability and Nonability Predictors of Real-World Skill Acquisition: The Case of Rubik’s Cube Solving

Most research on skilled performance is correlational, with skill and predictors measured at a single point in time, making it difficult to draw conclusions about the acquisition of skill. By contrast, in this study, we trained novice participants (N = 79) to solve Rubik’s Cubes using a 7-step solution method. Participants also completed measures of fluid intelligence (Gf), working memory capacity (WMC), and nonability factors (grit, growth mindset, NFC, and the “big five”). Overall, higher Gf (but not WMC) was predictive of efficient and accurate Rubik’s cube skill. No nonability variables were associated with skill. Our results provide compelling evidence for the importance of intellectual talent (cognitive ability) in developing expertise in a complex task

When can experience reduce age differences in cognitive tasks? : a study of musical memory

Ph.D.Timothy A. Salthous

A Rush to Judgement?

This case study describes a research study in which a number of ethical questions come up. It helps to communicate the fundamental ethical principles that apply to research involving human subjects. The material would be useful for introductory science courses. The case study and teaching notes may be downloaded in PDF format. The site also includes a section for instructor feedback where general comments may be read and contributed

Ability and Nonability Predictors of Real-World Skill Acquisition: The Case of Rubik’s Cube Solving

Most research on skilled performance is correlational, with skill and predictors measured at a single point in time, making it difficult to draw conclusions about the acquisition of skill. By contrast, in this study, we trained novice participants (N = 79) to solve Rubik’s Cubes using a 7-step solution method. Participants also completed measures of fluid intelligence (Gf), working memory capacity (WMC), and nonability factors (grit, growth mindset, NFC, and the “big five”). Overall, higher Gf (but not WMC) was predictive of efficient and accurate Rubik’s cube skill. No nonability variables were associated with skill. Our results provide compelling evidence for the importance of intellectual talent (cognitive ability) in developing expertise in a complex task

Deliberate practice: is that all it takes to become an expert?

Twenty years ago, Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Römer (1993) proposed that expert performance reflects a long period of deliberate practice rather than innate ability, or “talent”. Ericsson et al. found that elite musicians had accumulated thousands of hours more deliberate practice than less accomplished musicians, and concluded that their theoretical framework could provide “a sufficient account of the major facts about the nature and scarcity of exceptional performance” (p. 392). The deliberate practice view has since gained popularity as a theoretical account of expert performance, but here we show that deliberate practice is not sufficient to explain individual differences in performance in the two most widely studied domains in expertise research—chess and music. For researchers interested in advancing the science of expert performance, the task now is to develop and rigorously test theories that take into account as many potentially relevant explanatory constructs as possible