disuse theory of aging

the theory that some decline in psychological abilities with aging may be due to the lack of use of those abilities. According to this theory, as adults grow older, they engage their minds less and less with the types of tasks that are found on most psychological tests, particularly tests assessing cognitive functioning.

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Psychology term of the day

January 18th 2025

consistent missing

in parapsychology experiments using Zener cards or similar targets, the phenomenon in which a participant’s “calls,” or guesses, are consistently wrong or significantly below chance expectations. Some people attribute such systematic failure to processing error or a conscious or nonconscious reluctance to confirm psychic ability. See also psi-missing.