LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF FLUID ABILITY TRAINING IN OLD-OLD AGE

This study examined the effects of multiple phases of cognitive training on older adults' intellectual performance over a 7-year period as Ss advanced from young-old to old-old age. The study involved a pretest-posttest/no-treatment control-group design. At each of 3 training phases, conducted in 1979, 1981, and 1986, Ss received 5 training sessions on the fluid ability of figural relations. Participants (N = 38) had a mean age of 69 years (range = 63-80) at the onset of the study. Results showed that (a) significant training effects occurred at each of the 3 study phases, when Ss had mean ages of 69, 71, and 77 years; (b) the largest training gains were made in the first training phase; and (c) as a function of multiple phases of training, Ss in their 70s and early 80s performed significantly above their baseline level of figural relations performance 7 years previously.