Embedded Figures Test in Old Age: A Psychometric Note

Normative data, item difficulty, and reliability of the Embedded Figures Test for a sample of 71 aged subjects (35 males, 36 females) are given. The usefulness of the material in extended studies on the causes of increased field-dependence in old age is outlined.

Cognitive Processes Underlying Coping Flexibility: Differentiation and Integration

This study investigates how individuals formulate flexible coping strategies across situations by proposing differentiation and integration as two stress-appraisal processes. Results showed that participants who coped more flexibly adopted the dimensions of controllability and impact in differentiating among different stressful situations. They also deployed an integrated strategy: the deployment of more monitoring in situations perceived as controllable but less of this strategy in situations perceived as uncontrollable. Participants who coped less flexibly did not adopt any given dimensions and tended to use more monitoring regardless of situational characteristics. These results suggest that individuals with different extents of coping flexibility differ in the cognitive processes. Individuals who cope more flexibly display a greater extent of differentiation and integration than do those who cope less flexibly. These findings are translated into strategies for stress management workshops.

FIELD DEPENDENCE AND PERSONALITY: A RE-EXAMINATION

The relationship between measures of field dependence and measures of personality is examined, it is found that while these correlations tend to be low and inconsistent the correlations between measures of field dependence and standard measures of ability are substantial and consistent. It is more appropriate, therefore, to consider measures of field dependence as ability measures.

A review of age changes in perceptual information processing ability with regard to driving

Age related changes in the sensory modalities of hearing and vision, along with changes in the information processing abilities of selective attention, perceptual style, and perceptual-motor reaction time, were reviewed in the context of driving behavior. Literature reported, indicated age related changes in these abilities have relevance for the understanding of the driving behavior of the older adult.