Age differences in the perception of closure.

Abstract

This experiment represents an attempt to increase one''s general understanding of cognitive functioning in senescence. A comparison is made between the performance of 2 disparate age groups, with mean ages of 26.8 years and 78.1 years, on 2 kinds of perceptual tasks which earlier factorial studies have shown to reflect "the ability to fuse a perceptual field into a single percept" and "flexibility of closure." One group consisted of 16 Ss made up of doctors and nurses, and the other consisted of 16 residents in a home for the aged. They were roughly equated for intelligence. The 2 procedures were a Gestalt Completion Test, adapted by Thurstone from a technique devised by Street, and a Concealed Figures test, adapted by Thurstone from the Gottschaldt Figures Test. The older Ss were distinctly inferior on both tasks. "The over-all results were viewed as reflecting the overly loose or overly rigid cognitive functioning of the aged." 22 references.