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An Engagement Model of Cognitive Optimization Through Adulthood

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Address correspondence to Elizabeth A. L. Stine-Morrow, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, 226 Education Building, 1310 South Sixth St., Champaign, IL 61820-6990. E-mail: eals{at}uiuc.edu

The engagement hypothesis suggests that social and intellectual engagement may buffer age-related declines in intellectual functioning. At the same time, some have argued that social structures that afford opportunities for intellectual engagement throughout the life span have lagged behind the demographic shift toward an expanding older population. Against this backdrop, we developed the Senior Odyssey, an existing team-based program of creative problem solving. We tested the engagement hypothesis in a field experiment. Relative to controls, Senior Odyssey participants showed improved speed of processing, marginally improved divergent thinking, and higher levels of mindfulness and need for cognition after the program. This pilot translational project suggests that the Senior Odyssey program may serve as one effective model of engagement with good scaling-up potential.