The present study explored the concept of cognitive reserve by using a testing-the-limits paradigm. 140 young and 140 older adults were provided with extensive retest practice in the Digit Symbol Substitution Test and a visual search task. Cognitive abilities and personality dimensions served as predictors of retest improvement. Latent Growth Curve analyses demonstrated greater DSST improvement for the young group, but similar visual search improvement for both age groups, indicating age-independent cognitive reserve in visual search. Improvement rates for both tasks (...) were weakly correlated, speaking rather for task-specific learning than for a general cognitive reserve. Cognitive reserve was rather independent from cognitive abilities and, with one exception, also from personality dimensions. Implications for cognitive reserve in general and DSST and visual search retest learning in particular are discussed. (shrink)

Despite the important role of the consistency concept in various theoretical frameworks of memory research and its influence on practical investigations it remains unclear as to whether consistency has been firmly grounded as a explanatory factor. Consistency does not determine either a cognitive load or the development of automaticity. However, it does explain the nature of empirical facts that are subsumed by these terms. Consistency is not a psychological factor involved in many important and highly related topics of consciousness research (...) including, implicit learning, and implicit memory. Rather it is the way human beings relate their various mental experiences. (shrink)