Changes in processing adverbial conjuncts throughout adulthood

E-ISSN： 1469-1817|17|1|105-116

ISSN： 0142-7164

Source： Applied Psycholinguistics, Vol.17, Iss.1, 1996-01, pp. : 105-116

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

This study examines the use and understanding of concordant (e.g., consequently, moreover) and discordant (e.g., rather, contrastively) adverbial conjuncts in the later part of the life span. The participants, 75 neurologically healthy young (mean age 21.8), middle-aged (mean age 51.7), and elderly (mean age 73.1) adults, were examined using procedures by Nippold, Schwarz, and Undlin (1992). Groups were matched for education level. The results indicate a significant decline in processing adverbial conjuncts in the elderly. Discordant adverbial conjuncts especially challenged the linguistic processing abilities of the elderly subjects. The age- related decline in processing adverbial conjuncts.appears to be a specific deficit in linguistic processing that is independent of problems in memory or the effects of exposure to sophisticated language forms.