Self-efficacy and attributions for intellectual performance in young and elderly adults

Abstract

This study examined subjective assessments of intellectual performance in young (M age = 19.46) and elderly (M age = 75.13) adults. Male and female college students (n = 37) and senior citizens (n = 48) were asked to predict their performance before and after taking fluid and crystallized intelligence tests on two trials. Participants also made causal attributions for their test performance. Elderly participants scored significantly higher on the crystallized test, and young participants scored higher on the fluid test. Men's and women's actual performance did not differ, but the elderly women made lower performance predictions on the fluid test than the elderly men. Both the young and the elderly groups were more accurate in predicting their test performance for the test on which their performance was higher. Accuracy of performance predictions improved across the two trials. Both age groups were more likely to attribute successful performance to ability and unsuccessful performance to task difficulty.