Perceived Intellectual Aging: More Wellbeing and Personality than Age and Intellect

Abstract

Intellectual aging refers to the decline of cognitive abilities due to the processes of aging. This study addresses the question, how the perceived intellectual aging (PIA) depends on age, cognitive abilities level, personality and wellbeing. The results of the analyses being performed confirmed the hypothesis that PIA can be predicted by age and cognitive abilities level, yet, somewhat surprisingly, clearly show that dimensions of wellbeing and personality are far stronger predictors. Wellbeing dimensions accounted for about 23 percent of the variance in PIA, personality dimensions  for 17 percent, cognitive abilities level for 7 percent and chronological age only about 1 percent. Thus, the results of the study clearly suggest that, in the perception of intellectual aging signs, the effects of chronological age and the level of cognitive abilities are strongly overshadowed by the personality and wellbeing characteristics.