A recent NY
Times article by Benedict Carey (March 16, 2015) suggests that older really
does mean wiser and that mental capabilities may actually improve with
age. Carey identified a study conducted
by researchers Joshua Hartshorne of MIT and Laura Germine of Harvard and Mass
General Hospital. Published in the
journal Psychological Science,
scientists believe that social judgment may peak later in life.
Older adults typically score higher on crystallized
intelligence tests than middle-aged people.
This makes sense, as crystallized intelligence is the sum of
intellectual achievement or general knowledge.
Older adults know more because they have been around longer and that may
explain why older people score high on vocabulary tests.
Although processing speed and reaction time wane
with age, social judgment may increase.
Some new research indicates that older adults score higher than younger
people in tests judging mood and facial expression. Because they are more adept
at reading facial expressions and mood of strangers, that equates to “wisdom.” The “test” involved reading the emotions from
strangers’ eyes and older adults are very adept at reading the moods of others!
Check out this site and take the test. I am not an older adult…. yet… and my score
was 27. The average score is 22-30.
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Reading
the Mind in the Eyes Test http://www.questionwritertracker.com/quiz/61/Z4MK3TKB.html
The test is from the book, The Essential Difference by University of Cambridge professor Dr.
Simon Baron-Cohen. “For each photo,
choose the word that best describes what you think the person depicted is
thinking or feeling.”
