Perceived Control and Intellectual Functioning in the Elderly: A 5-Year Longitudinal Study

Abstract

We examined whether control beliefs are related to individual differences in intellectual aging by administering a battery of intellectual tests and perceived control scales to 63 elderly adults in 1981 and in 1986. Over the 5 years there were no changes in generalized control or intellectual performance, but there were changes in intellectual control beliefs. Specifically, the participants reported an increased dependence on others to carry out cognitive tasks. The cross-occasion stability correlations were relatively high, although there was some evidence for individual differences in change, especially for the control variables. Surprisingly, those with higher levels of education were more likely to show decreases in perceived intellectual control. Health was a significant antecedent of individual changes in vocabulary performance and intellectual control. The results also indicated that fluid intelligence was a significant predictor of changes in intellectual control beliefs, but control beliefs did not affect performance.