Post date: Sep 29, 2014 6:32:04 AM
Cognitive Training and Everyday Functioning Among the Elderly: Phase 1
Christopher Koch and Elizabeth Berger
Abstract. Cognitive training has become popularized with programs like Brain Age and Lumosity. Transferability of these programs is an important question. In particular, does cognitive training transfer to everyday tasks (e.g., managing a schedule or taking prescribed medications)? The current study focuses on baseline ability and is phase 1 of a larger national study examining the impact of cognitive training on everyday functioning among the elderly. Residents from a local retirement facility participated in the study (n=34). Greater awareness was associated with fewer everyday memory errors (r=.62, p <.001).Awareness was not correlated with delayed recall performance but was moderately correlated with LTM retrieval (r=.37, p<.05). Everyday memory scores were only correlated with LTM retrieval (r=.35, p<.05). However, subjective health was related to both delayed recall (r=.36, p<.05) and LTM retrieval (r=.37, p<.05). General self-efficacy and task self-efficacy were related (r=.36, p<.05). Although memory and task self-efficacy were not associated, greater awareness and task self-efficacy were correlated (r=.62, p<.001). Flourishing was correlated with general self-efficacy (r=.34, p<.05) and subjective health (r=.53, p<.001). Older subjective age ratings corresponded with higher pain ratings (r=.57, p<001). Finally, better everyday awareness was associated with fewer sleep problems (r=.42, p<.02).