The Precipitous Decline in Reasoning and Other Key Abilities with Age and Its Implications for Federal Judges

Autor/in	Kaufman, Alan S.
Titel	The Precipitous Decline in Reasoning and Other Key Abilities with Age and Its Implications for Federal Judges
Quelle	In: Journal of Intelligence, 9 (2021), Artikel 52 (23 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2079-3200
Schlagwörter	Judges; Federal Government; Aging (Individuals); Decision Making; Knowledge Level; Models; Cognitive Processes; Intelligence Quotient; Test Construction; Item Response Theory; Computer Assisted Testing; Intelligence Tests; Test Validity; Test Reliability; Competence; Risk; Cognitive Ability; Adults; Short Term Memory; Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Judge; Richter; Bundesregierung; Aging; Altern; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Wissensbasis; Analogiemodell; Cognitive process; Kognitiver Prozess; Intelligenzquotient; Testaufbau; Item-Response-Theorie; Intelligence test; Intelligenztest; Testvalidität; Testreliabilität; Kompetenz; Risiko; Denkfähigkeit; Kurzzeitgedächtnis
Abstract	U.S. Supreme Court justices and other federal judges are, effectively, appointed for life, with no built-in check on their cognitive functioning as they approach old age. There is about a century of research on aging and intelligence that shows the vulnerability of processing speed, fluid reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory to normal aging for men and women at all levels of education; even the maintained ability of crystallized knowledge declines in old age. The vulnerable abilities impact a person's decision-making and problem solving; crystallized knowledge, by contrast, measures a person's general knowledge. The aging-IQ data provide a rationale for assessing the key cognitive abilities of anyone who is appointed to the federal judiciary. Theories of multiple cognitive abilities and processes, most notably the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model, provide a well-researched blueprint for interpreting the plethora of findings from studies of IQ and aging. Sophisticated technical advances in test construction, especially in item-response theory and computerized-adaptive testing, allow for the development of reliable and valid theory-based tests of cognitive functioning. Such assessments promise to be a potentially useful tool for evaluating federal judges to assess the impact of aging on their ability to perform at a level their positions deserve, perhaps to measure their competency to serve the public intelligently. It is proposed that public funding be made available to appoint a panel of experts to develop and validate an array of computerized cognitive tests to identify those justices who are at risk of cognitive impairment. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	MDPI AG. Klybeckstrasse 64, 4057 Basel, Switzerland. e-mail: indexing@mdpi.com; e-mail: jintelligence@mdpi.com; Web site: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jintelligence
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01