SELF-RATINGS OF PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE ACROSS ADULTHOOD

Age differences in self-ratings of present and projected past and futu re cognitive performance were examined across a variety of cognitive d omains. Participants (N = 151) in their twenties, forties, sixties, an d eighties completed a battery of cognitive tasks and rated their pres ent performance, likely performance five years ago (past), and project ed performance five years hence (future) for each task. Performance on fluid/speeded intelligence, memory, and reasoning tasks followed a pr ogression of poorer performance with age. Age differences in self-asse ssment of projected past and future performance were found, as were ag e by time interactions. Self-ratings of participants in their twenties tended to reflect projections of continuing improvement from past to present to future, but self-ratings of participants in older age group s tended to reflect perceptions of increasing decline over time. These findings suggest that age differences in self-ratings of cognitive pe rformance may be related to age specific implicit theories of cognitiv e development.