"Older is always better": Age-related differences in vocabulary scores across 16 years

Boaz M. Ben-David; Hadas Erel; Huiwen Goy; Bruce A. Schneider

doi:10.1037/pag0000051

"Older is always better": Age-related differences in vocabulary scores across 16 years

Boaz M. Ben-David, Hadas Erel, Huiwen Goy, Bruce A. Schneider

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

65 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cross-sectional studies of cognitive aging compare age groups at 1 time point. It is unclear from such studies whether age-related cognitive differences remain stable across time. We present a cross-sectional investigation of vocabulary scores of 2,000 younger and older adults collected across 16 years, using the same laboratory and protocol. We found a steady decrease with year of testing and an advantage for older adults. An additive relation between age group and year of testing implied that age-related differences in vocabulary are independent of changes over time, suggesting that younger and older adults are similarly affected by changes in word usage.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	856-862
Number of pages	7
Journal	Psychology and Aging
Volume	30
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000051
State	Published - 1 Jan 2015
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Aging
Cognitive abilities
Cohort
Vocabulary
Year of testing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Psychology
Aging
Geriatrics and Gerontology

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10.1037/pag0000051

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title = "{"}Older is always better{"}: Age-related differences in vocabulary scores across 16 years",

abstract = "Cross-sectional studies of cognitive aging compare age groups at 1 time point. It is unclear from such studies whether age-related cognitive differences remain stable across time. We present a cross-sectional investigation of vocabulary scores of 2,000 younger and older adults collected across 16 years, using the same laboratory and protocol. We found a steady decrease with year of testing and an advantage for older adults. An additive relation between age group and year of testing implied that age-related differences in vocabulary are independent of changes over time, suggesting that younger and older adults are similarly affected by changes in word usage.",

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AU - Schneider, Bruce A.

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AB - Cross-sectional studies of cognitive aging compare age groups at 1 time point. It is unclear from such studies whether age-related cognitive differences remain stable across time. We present a cross-sectional investigation of vocabulary scores of 2,000 younger and older adults collected across 16 years, using the same laboratory and protocol. We found a steady decrease with year of testing and an advantage for older adults. An additive relation between age group and year of testing implied that age-related differences in vocabulary are independent of changes over time, suggesting that younger and older adults are similarly affected by changes in word usage.

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KW - Cognitive abilities

KW - Cohort

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KW - Year of testing

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"Older is always better": Age-related differences in vocabulary scores across 16 years

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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