Variability in cognitive aging : From taxonomy to theory

摘要: Variability pervades cognitive aging. Shining examples of older individuals who preserved outstanding intel-lectual abilities well into very old age, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe or Sophocles, stand in contrast to individuals whose intellectual capacities are depleted by the time they reach later adulthood. Similar contrasts exist between different intellectual abilities. For example, if one looks at perceptual speed, one is likely to find monotonic decline after late adolescence and early adulthood. But if one looks at …