Determinants and Effects of Engagement in Adulthood
Parisi, Jeanine
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/80017
Description
Title
Determinants and Effects of Engagement in Adulthood
Author(s)
Parisi, Jeanine
Issue Date
2007
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Elizabeth Stine-Morrow
Department of Study
Educational Psychology
Discipline
Educational Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Cognitive
Language
eng
Abstract
The present research explored how people experience daily activities by using a novel methodological approach, the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM; Kahneman et al., 2004), which has heretofore not been used to understand age differences in activity. An application of the DRM allowed for a more nuanced examination of the nature of activity over the course of a day, including the subjective experience and temporal patterns of engagement. Older adults (N = 192, M = 72 years of age) were administered the DRM, as well as personality and cognitive assessments. Over the course of the day, individuals spent an average of 14.50 hours engaged in a variety of activities. Although the extent of behavioral participation by itself was related to cognition, the more intriguing finding was that cognitive performance could be better explained by additionally considering the level of intellectual challenge afforded by daily experiences. Individual differences in cognition could also be partly explained by educational attainment and personality attributes. However, age-cognition relations were not substantially reduced after accounting for activity, affect, and personality. In conclusion, this preliminary study has the potential to open many avenues of research that rely on measurement of the nature of activities, as well as the motivational basis, patterns of involvement, and personality attributes that are important for cognitive well-being in adulthood.
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