Arguably, older age is one of the unavoidable stages in human life. As a matter of fact, there are various classic aging patters that people undergo in their lifetime. As people grow older various things change, this includes physical, social and psychological changes. Certainly, studies show that older people tend to score lower on performance tasks, but can tremendously maintain their verbal reasoning for some time. These classic aging patters and characteristics are caused by various factors. The decrease of performance in the older age is caused by a decline and changes in non-cognitive functions such as psychomotor skills and perceptual and sensory abilities. The changes that take place among the older individuals makes them susceptible to aspects of interference during performance or learning process.
In addition, health condition affects the performance of the older people. Such conditions that influence performance of the older people include hearing loss, terminal drop, nutrition deficits, hypertension, as well as cardiovascular disease. In the long run, the physical incapability affects performance adversely. As people grow older, they experience decline in physical strength leading to low performance at work (Chapter 5 “Cognitive Changes with Aging”).. Despite the reduction of performance at work, older people tend to maintain their verbal reasoning. This is because the ability to recall verbal information remains constant in the entire life.
Undeniably, there are various factors that influence intelligence positively or negatively in late adulthood. Research shows that intelligence score among the younger and older varies. Evidently, older test-takers obtain poor. One of the factors that influence intelligence is biological issues. In this case, people vary in the intelligence level due to biological factors. Others are believed to be more intelligent than others during the old age. However, studies show that it is difficult to ascertain the relative influence on issues pertaining age. Another factor that influences intelligence among older people is occupational level (Chapter 5 “Cognitive Changes with Aging”). The occupation level is mostly associated with education, meaning this factor can be the cause of intelligence variation. Older people who are still active in their occupations have the advantage of maintaining their intelligence level. Those occupations are required to apply their intelligence in solving problems. Those who are not active in their occupation experiences decline in intelligence level.
In addition, physical health is also another determinant towards the intelligence of the older people. The decline in physical health works negatively towards the intelligence level. The older people who are vulnerable to health problems are believed to have declining intelligence level. Therefore, in late adulthood health issues is one crucial determinant of intelligence. In the life of every human being, nutrition plays a critical role, especially on issues of growth and development. The nutritional deficit during late adulthood influences the intelligence adversely. The anxiety among individuals at late adulthood is another factor that influences education. In most cases, anxiety influence individuals during late adulthood, especially if they believe that they are put in a test to determine how intelligent they are.
Perhaps, playing games promotes the cognitive abilities of both the older and younger people. In most cases, playing games engages the brain into vital activities, which in turn stimulates the working of the brain. Playing games is a cognitive activity that keeps the kids of individual alert and active (Chapter 5 “Cognitive Changes with Aging”). The main concerns raised when it comes to playing games are the compatibility with age; hence, the games should be age-appropriate in order to positively influence the cognitive development. Playing games promote cognitive ability by enhancing processing speed, reaction time, as well as global cognition among the older people. In addition, playing games promotes motor skills which are crucial in the development of cognitive ability. Perhaps, motor skills help people to utilize controlled movement in undertaking various activities. In general perspective, games promote cognitive, social and physical development. The activities carried out indirectly boost cognitive abilities of reasoning and responding.
Reference
Part Three. The Psychological Context of social Aging: Chapter 5. Cognitive Changes with Aging.
