The Effect of Differential Reinforcement of Cautiousness in Intellectual Performance Among the Elderly

Abstract

The effects of differential reinforcement of cautiousness upon intellectual performance in the elderly were investigated employing 56 females and 32 males with a mean age of 73 years. Cautiousness was manipulated by systematically varying pre-test instruction conditions involving the reinforcement of two levels of risk and of response omission when taking the Primary Mental Abilities Test (PMA). Results suggest that performance in intelligence tests is much influenced by situational variables involving motivational components. Subjects exposed to low-risk conditions performed significantly better on cognitive tasks than those exposed to high-risk conditions only when they were able to exercise the option of responding or not responding to individual task items. Implications for a reconstruction of conventional intelligence measures are discussed.