TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive skills in the charitable giving decisions of the elderly
AU - James, Russell N.
N1 - Funding Information:
The data for this paper come from the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS) sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The ADAMS assessments were conducted between August 2001 and December 2003. Because ADAMS respondents were also members in a larger panel study, the detailed ADAMS data on cognition tests were linked to previous responses regarding charitable giving. ADAMS respondents received an in-person clinical assessment for issues related to memory and dementia. This assessment involved the use of a wide variety of cognition and memory tests. In addition, ADAMS respondents received clinical diagnoses with regard to the presence of a variety of memory-related impairments, such as dementia and ‘‘cognitive impairment not demented.’’ The following analyses examined only cognitively normal ADAMS respondents and excluded those diagnosed with any form of cognitive impairment. (This provides a rare opportunity to examine a group of older adults who, through rigorous clinical diagnosis, can be categorized as being without cognitive impairment.)
PY - 2011/7
Y1 - 2011/7
N2 - Charitable giving is a common, and easily measurable, form of prosocial behavior. It may also provide a unique cognitive challenge in that it often requires identifying with the needs of distant others. Using a sample of 331 cognitively normal seniors (mean age of 76), this study examined the relationship between charitable giving and scores on 18 different narrowly-focused cognitive tests. Only those cognitive tests involving spatial memory and drawing tasks were statistically significant in predicting the presence of charitable giving. This finding corresponds with neuroscience studies suggesting that spatial memory and socialemotional functions may involve related brain areas.
AB - Charitable giving is a common, and easily measurable, form of prosocial behavior. It may also provide a unique cognitive challenge in that it often requires identifying with the needs of distant others. Using a sample of 331 cognitively normal seniors (mean age of 76), this study examined the relationship between charitable giving and scores on 18 different narrowly-focused cognitive tests. Only those cognitive tests involving spatial memory and drawing tasks were statistically significant in predicting the presence of charitable giving. This finding corresponds with neuroscience studies suggesting that spatial memory and socialemotional functions may involve related brain areas.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79958718998&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03601271003689472
DO - 10.1080/03601271003689472
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79958718998
SN - 0360-1277
VL - 37
SP - 559
EP - 573
JO - Educational Gerontology
JF - Educational Gerontology
IS - 7
ER -