Perceptualand Motor Skills, 1991, 72, 1172-1174.
O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1991
AGE A N D SEX DIFFERENCES O N FOUR MEASURES OF COGNITIVE ABILITY' GAGINDRA PERSAUD Universily of the West Indies
Summary.-138 Faculty of Education students, 20 to 56 years old, in two undergraduate programs, worked on four psychometric tests of nonverbal intelligence. Sex and program differences were nonsignificant. The positive inrertest correlations were significant as were the negative age-test correlations. Steep declines for scores on Spatial Ability and Matrices and gentler decrements for scores on Paper Form Board and Number Series were noted with age. The findings suggest that decreased performance on these tests reflects the influence of age differences between younger and older students in this sample.
Life-span research has been conducted with a range of age groups, birth cohorts, and measurement procedures. Analyses suggest that the onset and rate of normative changes differ by ability (Schaie & Hertzog, 1983). I n cross-sectional comparisons of age differences in intelligence and in old age, Schaie (1979, 1983) has shown that much of the variance is associated with historical cohort factors rather than age factors. Baltes and Willis (1982), using their preliminary findings from an interaction study of subjects ranging in age from 60 to 80 years, implied that fluid intelligence performance shows plasticity in old age. There is considerable evidence to show that fluid intelligence abilities and general visualisation are the first to decline, with observable decrements initially in adulthood which continue into old age, and also that they decline most (Horn, 1982, 1988). Further evidence suggests significant declines in abilities for individuals in their mid50s but effect sizes for such declines remain small for individuals in their 60s (Schaie & Hertzog, 1983; Schaie & Willis, 1986). The present study explored the relationships between ages on four cognitive measures (three fluid intelligence tasks and one general visualisation task) between the two groups of undergraduate students. METHOD First-year Certificate in Education and Bachelor of Education students (n = 73 and n = 65, respectively), at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, voluntarily participated. Mean ages of the men and women in the total sample were 30.7 yr. (SD = 5.2) and 37.2 yr. (SD = 9.0), respectively. These were similar to the means and SDs of persons in each program of study. Men ranged in age from 22 to 41 years, women from 20 to 56 years. 'Address correspondence to the author, Faculty of Education, University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica.
1173
COGNITIVE ABILITY, AGE AND SEX
Four cognitive measures were administered in groups, namely, Matrices, Spatial Analogy, Number Series, and Paper Form Board. Each had three sample items. The numbers of test items and the time-limits for the tests according to the order of administration were 24 and 20 rnin., 32 and 5 min., 25 and 15 min., and 30 and 15 min., respectively (Persaud, 1982, 1987). The means and standard deviations in raw scores for the four measures are given in Table 1. None of the comparisons between the sexes or the programs of study reached statistical significance on any measure. These nonsignificant sex differences constitute an important finding, namely, that women between the ages of 20 and 56 years ~erformedat the same level as men aged between 22 to 41 years on these four cognitive measures. The lack of program differences confirms that Certificate in Education students performed at levels comparable to those of Bachelor of Education students despite differential entry requirements. TABLE 1 RAW SCORES ON FOLIR NIEASURESFORTOTALSAMPLE BY SEX A N D BY PROGRAM (N= 138)
M
SD Range
Matrices
Spatial Analogy
Number Series
Paper Form Board
11.72 3.86 1-20
17.57 8.03 1-31
11.31 5.22 0-23
20.96 4.13 10-30
Women (n = 84)
Men (n = 54) Matrices Spatial Analogy Number Series Paper Form Board
M
SD
12.00 17.56 12.11 21.70
3.75 8.52 5.38 4.11
M Matrices Spatial Analogy Number Series Paper Form Board
Range 1-18 1-31 2-23 13-30
Cert. Educ. (n = 73) SD Ranee
12.00 18.04 11.82 21.18
3.73 7.91 5.42 3.95
2-20 1-31 2-23 10-29
M
SD
11.54 17.58 10.80 20.48
3.94 7.75 5.08 4.09
Range 2-20 1-31 0-23 10-29
Bachelor's Educ. (n = 65) M SD Ranee 11.40 17.05 10.74 20.71
4.00 8.19 4.97 4.33
1-18 1-31 0-20 12-30
In Table 2 are listed the Pearson correlations among all the seven variables. These values were positive and significant beyond the .01 level (r,,, = .23j, which indicates that the tests were tapping much of the same abilities for these groups of students. Age showed significant negative correlations ( p = .01) with all tests, indicating a decline in performance among the older students. The decrements were greatest on the Spatid Analogy and Matrices, followed by those on
1174
G. PERSAUD
Paper Form Board and Number Series. Age and Program of Study were not interrelated, but age was significantly related to sex, which reflected the presence of older women in the sample, some of whom were older than any of the men. The over-all conclusion is that age accounted for the decrements reported on these tests between younger and older students. TABLE 2 PEARSON CORRELATIONS AMONGVA~IABLES (N= 138) Tests
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Matrices Spatial Analogv Number S e r ~ o Paper Form Board Program Sex Age
2
3
4
5
6
7
.62*
.47* .42*
.41* .38* .44*
-.08 -. 06 -.lo -.06
-.06 .OO -.12 -.I5 .04
-.44* -.45* -.28* -.34* .07 .38*
REFERENCES BALTES,I? B., & WULIS, S. L. Enhancement (plasticity) of inteUectual functioning in old age: Penn State's Adult Developmental and Enrichment Project (ADEPT). In F. I. M. Craik & S. E. Trehub (Eds.), Aging and cognitive processes. New York: Plenum, 1982. Pp. 353-389. HORN,J. L. The aging of human abilities. In B. B Wolman (Ed.), Handbook of developmental prychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice.H~U,1982. Pp. 847-870. HORN,J. L. Thinking about human a b d ~ t ~ e sIn. J. R. Nessekoade & R. B. Cattell (Eds.), Handbook ofexperimen&lpsychology New York: Plenum, 1988. Pp. 645-685. PEKSAUD,G. Nonverbal test of ]earrung rcadiness. (Unpublished mimeographed manuscript, School of Education, University oi the West Indies, Kingston, 1982) PERSAUD, G . Sex and age differences on the Raven Matrices. Perceptual and Motor Skillr, 1987, 65, 45-46. SCI-im,K. W. The primar mental abilities in adulthood: an exploration in the development of psychometric intehgence. In P. B. Baltes & 0. G. Brim, Jr. (Eds.), Life-span development and behavior. New York: Academic Press, 1979. Pp. 76-115. SCHAE, K. W. The Seattle longitudinal study: a 21-year exploration of psychometric intelligence in adulthood. In K. W. Schaie (Ed.), Longitudinal studies of adult psychological development. New York: Guillord, 1983. Pp. 64-135. SCHAIE, K. W., & HERTZOG,C. Fourteen-year cohort-sequential studies of adult intelligence. Developmental Psychology, 1983, 19, 531-543. SCHE, K. W., & WILLIS, S. L. Can decline in adult intellectual functioning be reversed? Developmental Psychology, 1986, 22, 223-232.
Accepted June 7, 1991
O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1991
AGE A N D SEX DIFFERENCES O N FOUR MEASURES OF COGNITIVE ABILITY' GAGINDRA PERSAUD Universily of the West Indies
Summary.-138 Faculty of Education students, 20 to 56 years old, in two undergraduate programs, worked on four psychometric tests of nonverbal intelligence. Sex and program differences were nonsignificant. The positive inrertest correlations were significant as were the negative age-test correlations. Steep declines for scores on Spatial Ability and Matrices and gentler decrements for scores on Paper Form Board and Number Series were noted with age. The findings suggest that decreased performance on these tests reflects the influence of age differences between younger and older students in this sample.
Life-span research has been conducted with a range of age groups, birth cohorts, and measurement procedures. Analyses suggest that the onset and rate of normative changes differ by ability (Schaie & Hertzog, 1983). I n cross-sectional comparisons of age differences in intelligence and in old age, Schaie (1979, 1983) has shown that much of the variance is associated with historical cohort factors rather than age factors. Baltes and Willis (1982), using their preliminary findings from an interaction study of subjects ranging in age from 60 to 80 years, implied that fluid intelligence performance shows plasticity in old age. There is considerable evidence to show that fluid intelligence abilities and general visualisation are the first to decline, with observable decrements initially in adulthood which continue into old age, and also that they decline most (Horn, 1982, 1988). Further evidence suggests significant declines in abilities for individuals in their mid50s but effect sizes for such declines remain small for individuals in their 60s (Schaie & Hertzog, 1983; Schaie & Willis, 1986). The present study explored the relationships between ages on four cognitive measures (three fluid intelligence tasks and one general visualisation task) between the two groups of undergraduate students. METHOD First-year Certificate in Education and Bachelor of Education students (n = 73 and n = 65, respectively), at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, voluntarily participated. Mean ages of the men and women in the total sample were 30.7 yr. (SD = 5.2) and 37.2 yr. (SD = 9.0), respectively. These were similar to the means and SDs of persons in each program of study. Men ranged in age from 22 to 41 years, women from 20 to 56 years. 'Address correspondence to the author, Faculty of Education, University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica.
1173
COGNITIVE ABILITY, AGE AND SEX
Four cognitive measures were administered in groups, namely, Matrices, Spatial Analogy, Number Series, and Paper Form Board. Each had three sample items. The numbers of test items and the time-limits for the tests according to the order of administration were 24 and 20 rnin., 32 and 5 min., 25 and 15 min., and 30 and 15 min., respectively (Persaud, 1982, 1987). The means and standard deviations in raw scores for the four measures are given in Table 1. None of the comparisons between the sexes or the programs of study reached statistical significance on any measure. These nonsignificant sex differences constitute an important finding, namely, that women between the ages of 20 and 56 years ~erformedat the same level as men aged between 22 to 41 years on these four cognitive measures. The lack of program differences confirms that Certificate in Education students performed at levels comparable to those of Bachelor of Education students despite differential entry requirements. TABLE 1 RAW SCORES ON FOLIR NIEASURESFORTOTALSAMPLE BY SEX A N D BY PROGRAM (N= 138)
M
SD Range
Matrices
Spatial Analogy
Number Series
Paper Form Board
11.72 3.86 1-20
17.57 8.03 1-31
11.31 5.22 0-23
20.96 4.13 10-30
Women (n = 84)
Men (n = 54) Matrices Spatial Analogy Number Series Paper Form Board
M
SD
12.00 17.56 12.11 21.70
3.75 8.52 5.38 4.11
M Matrices Spatial Analogy Number Series Paper Form Board
Range 1-18 1-31 2-23 13-30
Cert. Educ. (n = 73) SD Ranee
12.00 18.04 11.82 21.18
3.73 7.91 5.42 3.95
2-20 1-31 2-23 10-29
M
SD
11.54 17.58 10.80 20.48
3.94 7.75 5.08 4.09
Range 2-20 1-31 0-23 10-29
Bachelor's Educ. (n = 65) M SD Ranee 11.40 17.05 10.74 20.71
4.00 8.19 4.97 4.33
1-18 1-31 0-20 12-30
In Table 2 are listed the Pearson correlations among all the seven variables. These values were positive and significant beyond the .01 level (r,,, = .23j, which indicates that the tests were tapping much of the same abilities for these groups of students. Age showed significant negative correlations ( p = .01) with all tests, indicating a decline in performance among the older students. The decrements were greatest on the Spatid Analogy and Matrices, followed by those on
1174
G. PERSAUD
Paper Form Board and Number Series. Age and Program of Study were not interrelated, but age was significantly related to sex, which reflected the presence of older women in the sample, some of whom were older than any of the men. The over-all conclusion is that age accounted for the decrements reported on these tests between younger and older students. TABLE 2 PEARSON CORRELATIONS AMONGVA~IABLES (N= 138) Tests
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Matrices Spatial Analogv Number S e r ~ o Paper Form Board Program Sex Age
2
3
4
5
6
7
.62*
.47* .42*
.41* .38* .44*
-.08 -. 06 -.lo -.06
-.06 .OO -.12 -.I5 .04
-.44* -.45* -.28* -.34* .07 .38*
REFERENCES BALTES,I? B., & WULIS, S. L. Enhancement (plasticity) of inteUectual functioning in old age: Penn State's Adult Developmental and Enrichment Project (ADEPT). In F. I. M. Craik & S. E. Trehub (Eds.), Aging and cognitive processes. New York: Plenum, 1982. Pp. 353-389. HORN,J. L. The aging of human abilities. In B. B Wolman (Ed.), Handbook of developmental prychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice.H~U,1982. Pp. 847-870. HORN,J. L. Thinking about human a b d ~ t ~ e sIn. J. R. Nessekoade & R. B. Cattell (Eds.), Handbook ofexperimen&lpsychology New York: Plenum, 1988. Pp. 645-685. PEKSAUD,G. Nonverbal test of ]earrung rcadiness. (Unpublished mimeographed manuscript, School of Education, University oi the West Indies, Kingston, 1982) PERSAUD, G . Sex and age differences on the Raven Matrices. Perceptual and Motor Skillr, 1987, 65, 45-46. SCI-im,K. W. The primar mental abilities in adulthood: an exploration in the development of psychometric intehgence. In P. B. Baltes & 0. G. Brim, Jr. (Eds.), Life-span development and behavior. New York: Academic Press, 1979. Pp. 76-115. SCHAE, K. W. The Seattle longitudinal study: a 21-year exploration of psychometric intelligence in adulthood. In K. W. Schaie (Ed.), Longitudinal studies of adult psychological development. New York: Guillord, 1983. Pp. 64-135. SCHAIE, K. W., & HERTZOG,C. Fourteen-year cohort-sequential studies of adult intelligence. Developmental Psychology, 1983, 19, 531-543. SCHE, K. W., & WILLIS, S. L. Can decline in adult intellectual functioning be reversed? Developmental Psychology, 1986, 22, 223-232.
Accepted June 7, 1991
