Characterizing Cognitive Dispersion and its Correlates Across the Adult Lifespan in MIDUS.

Objectives: Although research has shown that higher levels of within-person variability across cognitive tasks (dispersion) are associated with cognitive decline in clinical samples, little is known about dispersion in comparatively younger, non-clinical, and national samples. A better understanding of dispersion is needed to elucidate for whom and under what circumstances dispersion can be used as a reliable indicator of cognitive health.

Method: We used data from the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS; n = 2,229; Mage = 56 years, range = 33-83; 56% female) to: (a) characterize dispersion and its cross-sectional correlates in a non-clinical, adult lifespan sample and (b) examine changes in dispersion over time to determine for whom changes in dispersion may reflect better or worse cognitive aging.

When and how perceived control buffers against cognitive declines: A moderated mediation analysis.

Although perceived control is a well-established predictor of cognitive aging, less is known about how and under what developmental circumstances these beliefs about personal influence may protect against cognitive declines. Our study examined light physical activity (LPA) as an unexplored mechanism that may link changes in two facets of perceived control (personal mastery, perceived constraints) to longitudinal trajectories of cognitive functioning. We also examined whether mediated pathways were moderated by age (i.

Perceived control across the adult lifespan: Longitudinal changes in global control and daily stressor control.

Perceived control is an important psychosocial resource for health and well-being across the lifespan. Global control (i.e.