TitleIntraindividual coupling of daily stress and cognition.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2006
AuthorsSliwinski, MJ, Smyth, JM, Hofer, SM, Stawski, RS
JournalPsychol Aging
Volume21
Issue3
Pagination545-57
Date Published2006 Sep
ISSN0882-7974
KeywordsActivities of Daily Living, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Attention, Emotions, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Neuropsychological Tests, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Psychometrics, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, Serial Learning, Sick Role, Statistics as Topic, Stress, Psychological
Abstract

<p>Most psychological theories predict associations among processes that transpire within individuals. However, these theories are often tested by examining relationships at the between-persons (BP) rather than the within-persons (WP) level. The authors examined the WP and BP relationships between daily stress and daily variability in cognitive performance. Daily stress and cognitive performance were assessed on 6 occasions in 108 older adults and 68 young adults. WP variability in stress predicted WP variability in response times (RTs) on a 2-back working memory task in both younger and older adults. That is, RTs were slower on high-stress days compared with low-stress days. There was evidence of an amplified WP stress effect in the older adults on a serial attention task. There was no evidence of stress effects on simple versions of these tasks that placed minimal demands on working memory. These results are consistent with theories that postulate that stress-related cognitive interference competes for attentional resources.</p>

DOI10.1037/0882-7974.21.3.545
Alternate JournalPsychol Aging
PubMed ID16953716
PubMed Central IDPMC2879634
Grant ListR01 AG026728 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG012448 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R29 AG012448 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG012448-10 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
AG-12448 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG026728-02 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG026728-01A1 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States