BRINLEY PLOTS AND THEORIES OF AGING - THE EXPLICIT, MUDDLED, AND IMPLICIT DEBATES

We evaluated the debates concerning Brinley plots and the associated t heories of age-related slowing. We concluded that an explicit debate r egarding a single-factor, general slowing model was no longer a debate as most, if not all, agree to the disconfirmation of that model. We a ddress sources of confusion in the debates that have muddled the areas of genuine disagreement. When the confusion is lifted, the remaining debate centers, rightly, on evaluation of theories of aging. We show t hat Brinley plot analyses call lead to both falsely accepting and fals ely rejecting theories of age-related slowing. Although plotting data most certainly can assist with the evaluation of cognitive theory, we argue that models of performance and learning must play a more central role in advancing theories of cognitive aging.