Stimulus Intensity Modulation: A Perceptual‐cognitive Approach to Life Style in the Elderly1

Abstract

Gerontological research and theory have largely ignored individual differences and been remarkably unconcerned about the possibility that individuality in processes reflected in perceptual‐cognitive style may mediate differences in important domains of attitudes and behaviors in the elderly. It was here hypothesized that various aspects of life‐style (including engagement) reflect the postulated dimension of modulation (i.e., augmenting vs. reducing) of stimulus intensity. Using the Kinesthetic Aftereffects (KAE) task as the index of stimulus intensity modulation (SIM), a consistent pattern of significant relationships was found between KAE and varied aspects of life style, including the behaviors studied by Engagement Theorists. These findings support the formulation that in the elderly, SIM, as indexed by KAE, can predict individual differences in various aspects of life style. Implications for aging, and the construct of “engagement,” are discussed.

Kinesthetic aftereffect and personality: A case study of issues involved in construct validation.

“…All subjects were tested in seven different sessions ( Days 1,2,3,4,5,10,and 15). During the first session only, the subject began by feeling the entire length of the wedge and making two practice judgments of the width of the test block.…”

“…In many instances, the items themselves (or items similar in content) or the behavior tapped by the items have already been found to be empirically related to KAE performance. For example, Petrie (1967) has reported significant empirical relationships between KAE and responses to or behavior tapped by 12 of the items in the questionnaire (see Table 2,Items 2b,3,4,5,7,8,9,10b,10c,11,18a,and 18b). Sales (1972) has found significant relationships for responses to or behavior tapped by two…”

When “reliability” fails, must a measure be discarded?—The case of Kinesthetic Aftereffect

“…(6.35 em) wide Inducing (1) block and a 30 Ln , (76.20 em) long tapered comparison wedge. Each KAE session consisted of 18 width judgments.…”

“…But, reliability is only an abstract concept; neither true score nor error can be directly measured, but only inferred (Guilford, 1965, p. 434). Test-retest reliability, the correlation between the same test given on two different occasions to the same subjects, is an estimate of reliability which indicates stability over time (Cronbach, 1949 minus Pretest l]--that is (1) However. the fact that one element (PI) is common to both terms of the correlation would artifactually tend to produce a positive correlation.…”

Kinesthetic Aftereffect: Can This Simple Tactual Task Really Predict Personality Attributes?

“…All subjects were tested in seven different sessions (Days 1,2,3,4,5,10,and 15). During the first session only, the subject began by feeling the entire length of the wedge and making two practice judgments of the width of the T blocks.…”