McCain, Obama, and Some Painful Truths About Aging
When U.S. presidential candidate John McCain had a birthday recently, television talk-show host Jay Leno told McCain that he had planned to get him a birthday cake but that the local fire chief had objected, commenting, "That many candles?"
Indeed, 72-year-old McCain is the oldest person in U.S. history to run for the presidency, and his opponent, 46-year-old Barack Obama, once accused McCain of "losing his bearings," a polite way of saying that McCain is becoming senile. McCain, in turn, sometimes refers to Obama as "that young man with very little experience."
The age issue is one of many that will help decide the upcoming election. What's the truth about it? How much difference does age actually make in competent leadership? Does cognitive ability really decline as we age, and, if so, by how much?
The American public is predictably divided on this issue. Some believe that Obama is indeed too young to assume such high office, even though John F. Kennedy was a mere 43 when he became president. Others insist that McCain is just too old, noting that President Ronald Reagan showed clear signs of Alzheimer's disease during his second term in office, when he was in his late 70s. Barely three years out of office, Reagan's cognitive impairment had become severe.
At 55, having been a research psychologist for 30 years now, I decided to take a dispassionate look at these issues. The process proved to be painful in some respects, particularly when I took an honest look at my own declining abilities. But I have long believed that knowing is better than not knowing, no matter what the pain. And when it comes to the issue of cognitive decline, knowing might also be the best defense.
Here, in brief summary form, is what relevant research says about the usual course of cognitive abilities as we age.
First, let's consider a rather basic ability: learning. Most middle-aged people are aware that their elderly parents are mystified by the latest DVD players, PDAs, and iPods -- and that the quickest way to solve a computer problem is to ask a teenager, or even a child. Do you see the trend here? Indeed, research shows unequivocally that our ability to learn new things peaks during our teen years and declines steadily thereafter. One illustrative study, conducted by Harry Braun and Richard Geiselhart a half-century ago, even showed that classical conditioning -- that most basic of learning processes first studied by Ivan Pavlov in the early 1900s with dogs -- barely occurs at all in elderly humans.
Our ability to acquire new knowledge declines in part because of a decline in most basic memory functions. The deterioration of memory is best illustrated by looking at some old research on what researchers call "incidental" memory -- remembering that occurs automatically and without effort. Mnemonic strategies mastered as we get older can mask memory's decline; when we look at what is remembered accidentally, we get a clearer picture.
Raymond Willoughby of Clark University first studied this phenomenon in 1929. He had people copy pairs of digits and symbols and then -- without first having told his subjects that he was going to do so -- later asked them to recall which symbol had been paired with each digit. Performance on this task improved from childhood to about age 13 and then declined thereafter, and old subjects performed more poorly on this task than children did. Incidental memory was also studied in a simple but ingenious study conducted by Harold E. Jones and his colleagues in which researchers asked people emerging from a cinema to give details about the film they had just seen. Teens and people in their early twenties performed best -- and elderly people could barely remember the name of the movie without looking up at the marquis. As you age, it becomes increasingly difficult to remember things unless you make a concerted effort.
The pattern is the same on classic tests of intelligence -- tests that measure basic reasoning ability, certainly an important ability for a nation's leaders. You may have heard that "IQ" remains relatively stable throughout life, and indeed it does. That's because IQ is a quotient ("Intelligence Quotient") -- a relative measure that expresses your test score in relation to test scores of people your own age. Your IQ stays roughly the same because you stay in roughly the same place with respect to your cohort.
When you look at raw scores, however -- your actual test score before it's expressed in relative terms -- the pattern is distressing. On both the traditional intelligence tests developed by David Wechsler and the more culture-free types of tests developed by J.C. Raven and others, raw scores peak between ages 13 and 15 and decline thereafter. As Wechsler put it, after age 14, increases in mental age in succeeding half-year scores "are so small as to make them unreliable," and the highest mental age we can achieve is fifteen and a half. In other words, IQ, the relative measure, is stable only because virtually everyone in your cohort is deteriorating at about the same rate.
Findings from studies of IQ are consistent with research conducted by Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget and his colleagues and students. Piaget found that the highest level of reasoning, which he called "formal operational thinking," is normally achieved by age 14 or 15 -- if it is ever achieved at all.
You may also have heard that brain size is a poor predictor of intelligence. That's true when you compare species, and this also applies to genders (no one has ever figured out what human males use all that extra brain mass for). But several studies conducted over the past decade or so show that when it comes to individuals, brain size is in fact an excellent predictor of a variety of cognitive abilities. Does brain size follow the pattern we see with intelligence and memory? Indeed it does. A recent MRI study conduced by Eric Courchesne and his colleagues at the University of California San Diego shows that brain size in humans peaks at about age 14 and declines gradually thereafter. By the time a man--such as candidate McCain -- is 70, his brain has shrunk to the size it was when he was about 3. This pattern occurs both for overall brain volume and for the all-important gray matter that contains signaling neurons.
Although not central to the cognition issue, I would be remiss in failing to point out that most of our perceptual and motor capabilities also fit this disturbing pattern: our visual acuity, overall hearing ability, ability to discriminate speech sounds (important during delicate meetings of state), touch sensitivity, and so on. Elderly people sometimes, ahem, face odor challenges because--according to a study conducted in the 1980s -- they lose much of their sense of smell in their 70s and 80s. More to the point, reaction time -- our ability to respond swiftly to sudden events, which is undoubtedly an important competency for leaders -- also follows this pattern. We react to sudden stimuli most quickly in our teens and twenties and quite slowly in old age. (A new study by George Bartzokis and his colleagues at UCLA suggests that some fine motor abilities, such as finger-tapping speed, don't start declining until age 40, but this is more relevant to pianists than presidents.)
Is the news all bad? Fortunately not. Research suggests that we do become "wiser" as we get older, meaning that we can make especially good decisions in areas where we have accumulated a great deal of specialized knowledge -- as long as we don't need to acquire a great deal of new knowledge quickly, that is. In a static world, wisdom has great value, but in a rapidly changing one, it's prudent for the old to make way for the young.
As for the candidates, Obama, as brilliant as he appears to be, has likely started having trouble finding his keys, and McCain, his courage notwithstanding, is probably little more than a ghost of his former cognitive self.
This article originally appeared in the London Times on October 25, 2008.
Epstein is a visiting scholar at the University of California San Diego and the former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today magazine. His latest books are The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen and Parsing the Turing Test: Philosophical and Methodological Issues in the Quest for the Thinking Computer.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
Age only becomes a factor when your abilities deteriorate to the point where you can't perform your job competently. Many older people are mentally sharp. And many aren't. And judging by McCains judgement over the last few months, I seriously doubt his ability to handle the responsability of the single most powerful position in the world. And Palin?
TY for your post...you said everything I was thinking..
A mental picture of an old, ghostly man wandering his porch, shaking his fist at menacing youngsters whose sinister antics he can't understand or tolerate: that's the impression I (and, apparently, many others) feel when I see and hear him. Not very confidence
I get the feeling that that's what Real Americans like in a leader. Sounds bizarre, but perhaps not far fro the truth. It's rather depressing.
Well, I am a real American, and I can assure you, that's not what I look for in a leader.
Obama, while I don't agree with everything he has done, embodies many of the qualities I believe makes a great president. Great speaker, quick on his feet, deliberate thinker willing to seek advice, tough yet fair, organized, passionate. Above all, and also the reason Clinton was so popular, Obama seems to have a genuine concern for people.
Memories- here is Part 2:
I may not do as well with the years of my thirties onward, but then, sometimes nothing “remarkable” happens after you leave childhood. Back then everything was new and exciting, and you didn’t worry about how you’d get through tomorrow or if, even worse, there would be another tomorrow. I believe that some of us remember and cherish the “kid stuff” because it reflected the innocence of childhood.
There isn’t as much innocence today. TV was a rarity, and we were dirt-poor, so we never had a TV until a neighbor gave us her old one. We all watched the same program, weren't many broadcast channels, and you never saw a “bared breast” or heard a curse word beyond the “dern, goshdern, drat or doggone it. A much “simpler” life, without all the so-called advantages of today. Sure, I have a desktop, a laptop, an I-pod, and my Nintendo DS and lots of games. I’ve got CD’s, DVD’s and I’ve adapted to all this, but these are just “things” and I believe that my childhood memories didn’t revolve around things, but experiences. I don’t let myself get mired in the past, it’s fun to look back on the good times, and forget those bad times. I guess what matters most is a belief that you take one day at a time, and find something to smile about each day as you grow older. Remember, memories can be a burden or a blessing.
The way I see it is that even if McCain wins, which he won't , I really believe that Palin would take charge. I can't understand why she brings out such extremely negative feelings in me. Can someone help me out?
I see her as being a narcissist; she has no clue how her words and actions affect others. She seems to be someone who takes zero responsibility for anything that is wrong, but blames others.
ANY woman worth her salt can tell an expensive garment from a cheap one. She claims to shop in consignment shops, so she should be an expert in clothing; because I am assuming she shops there to get the best quality for the cheapest price.
But, it's more than that. From her first speech at the RNC, she looked like a vulture. Her words were hateful and spiteful; but she seemed like she was having the time of her life. Elisabeth Hasselbeck is exactly the same way. Those two give me real pains in my stomach.
I truly am afraid to believe that Obama will win. It would truly be a dream come true for America. But, I am so paranoid thinking the Reps will screw with all the computers and make it look like McCain won.
Oy! Hurry up Nov. 5th. And I hope it will actually be resolved by then and not drag on for months. I won't be able to take it!!!
Am I alone here in my thinking?
You're not alone in your thinking, there are plenty of us real females that can't stand the sight or sound of Phony Palin. It's hard to believe that some women like her and hope that she will be the first female President. Incredible, isn't it, that some women prefer to remain "uninformed' and so female-focused" close-minded that they can't see the dangers she represents. It must be a "Hah, now we'll show those men - we'll put a woman in charge".
I can't wait for November 5th, and a return to sanity after Obama's landslide.
Regardless of the possession of external sexual characteristics, she is just another George Bush! That's what's frightening.
cause she's an ambitious opprotunis
I think a heck of a lot people picked up on those glaring facts intuitively but why didn't McCain?
Perhaps this article has a point.
Oh, darn it! Who can you trust nowadays. I'm seventy-one, and you quote someone that says that the size of my brain has decreased with time, and now mine matches that of a three-year-old. I want to defend my peers in my age group. I do not regard myself as "elderly" - there's "elderly", and then there's “ELDERLY”. Sorry for the caps folks, but sometimes it's the only way to emphasize a word in these blogs. I can remember World War II, ration stamps, Fleers Double-Bubble bubblegum no longer available, the war, you know. I remember collecting tin foil for the war effort, the air raid sirens, the scary blackouts and those green/black shades that had to be drawn when the sirens sounded. I remember the day Roosevelt died and the even-more-solemn nuns hushed/rushed us inside St. Emydius Church in San Francisco. I think the location was at Jules and Grafton. I remember metal, adjustable roller skates that you put over your shoes and were “custom-fitted” with a skate key that you attached to a shoelace and hung around your neck while skating on the streets. I remember the K streetcar that went to the end of the line a block from my house. Us kids thought we were daring when we were fortunate enough to get one of those “silver” pennies to insert in the streetcar tracks, it flattened out and was soon forgotten. These are some of my good memories.
Gram, I hope that you will take some time to write down or record all of those memories. At some point in the future, your grandchildren (and perhaps your children, too) will be grateful to be able to know what life was like for you when you were growing up. Recently, one of my aunts put together a collection of the stories that her mother (my grandmother) told over the years. Along with copies of various family photos and documents, those stories were a wonderful and fascinating peek into her life. It revealed, for all of us in later generations, how different life was in the early 1900s from anything that I remember. I learned many details about my mother's life that I would never have known otherwise.
Hoping that you stay young and stay healthy for many more years :-)
Regardless of age, this is really the first time McCain has been tested on the national stage. His run in 2000 was all local & state stuff, which ended early when he couldn't stand the heat in South Carolina.
Seeing him in the hard-testing process of a full-on general election run for the presidency, all of can now see that much of the man's reputation has been pure myth.
And on simple demonstrations of raw intellect, it is obvious that Barack Obama is alone on those debate stages. The man has a first-class mind.
The necessarily narrow focus of well controled psychometric studies can simply not be generalized to the issue of competency in the aging. We have only just begun to collect data on this as a race (human). And, there is just too much evidence that individual differences in the affects of aging are much more pornounced than are individual differences in youth.
The best there is to work with is the conventional wisdom of a more sociological nature. The wisdom comes from business hiring practices. Young people are quick but poorly focused. Older workers are slower but have discipline. You peak as an individual worker at about 30. You peak as a manager at about 40. You peak as a CEO at about 50. You retire at 60 something.
It is a natural enough progression, from mastery of tasks to mastery of systems to mastery of a philosophy. Then you die. Hopefully leaving enough behind so that no one has to invent what you know again. But it doesn't always work out that way. In fact, there seems no way to speed things up for people. They live and learn at a pace seemingly set by a clock no one can see until it has run out.
Any more detailed prognosis for a McCain Presidency would require an MRI study of his brain. And that would not move anyone on the right, they being notorious for having utter disregard for science anyway.
What 3rdCitizen said. Do you really want a 14-year-old running the country?
As a martial arts instructor for the past 18 years, I've seen how differences in age affect learning ability. Teenagers can learn things in days that take most 40 year olds months. Good traditional martial arts, by the way, involves a lot of mental exercise--
There are some mitigating factors, however. Students who have trained in a martial art for over a decade can learn new things fairly quickly even as they age, even into their 50s and 60s. I'm 60 and have been training in martial arts for 25 years and my mind probably functions better now than it did when I started.
Another element is how often people use their brains creatively in their daily lives, and also how physically fit they are as they age. I've noticed that people whose jobs are in professions such as medicine, law or creative arts typically learn skills more quickly than people with less intellectual jobs. The classic study of the in Mankato, MN demonstrates that those who challenge themselves mentally into their 80s and 90s remain mentally sharp and also resist dementia. (Check out: http://www
It's not John McCain's age that worries me. We've had many fine elderly world leaders. Winston Churchill guided Britain through WWII into his 70s.
The real problem with McCain is his temperament, which has been erratic is whole life.
Barack Obama is 47 born August 4th, 1961 in Hawaii, a state in the United States of America.
Some people wouldn't be so concerned about McCain's age if it weren't for his VP pick.
Hell, I'm only 68 and I can ......... I can uhh.......
I'd like to say something.
excuse me.
What he (she?) said. I think.
I had not noticed any changes until age 56. I hope this is "normal aging" and not the beginning of the Alzheimer's my aunt and grandfather died from. . My aunt was only 74 so her decline must have started in her 60s.
Are there tests for early onset Alzheimer's? I've voiced my concern to my doctor and it always gets laid to stress or possibly to my other health problems, or "normal aging". Regardless, I do not like it.
OH, I completely agree about McCain.
Almost forgot to say that.
I believe there are tests for early onset, and there are also medications, now, to stave off the progress of Alzheimer's, but will not cure it. If you have concerns, then be more forward with your doctor and tell him you want to be tested for you own well being.
Nosillyname, you can have a MRI and a neurospy test. I am not a physician but my loved one had these to determine early dementia or alzheimers. MRI tests helped to diagnose this along with other testing. Also just check out the internet on a alzheimers website, they have tests and also symptoms of when you should alert a physician etc.
Could be neurosy or neurospy testing with MRI. followed with commented not posted yet.
"72-year-old McCain is the oldest person in U.S. history to run for the presidency"
Actually, that isn't quite true. Dole and Reagan (second term) were a bit older.
I'm an Obama supporter, and I also have noticed some things about McCain's performance that give me pause.
First, I think that studies done in 1929 may not be relevant. Many older people then were not well nourished, especially in childhood, which can affect cognitive capacity. Why is the author using such as old study? Is there no current research available (which I do not think is the case)? Or does the current research available does not support his viewpoint? (And the brain shrinkage at the end of life, in normal people, is less than 2% from the adult peak: see recent articles.) DOn't forget, the 1920's were full of people who thought everyone were imbeciles, including minorities.
Second, too many studies point to the idea that how you age is linked to both your physical lifestyle, and your expectations about aging. A recent study found that those who had positive expectations of aging lived something like an average of 7 years longer than those who didn't.
We now know that yes, older adults do form new brain pathways, though somewhat more slowly. They do indeed learn new things. I think all of us know people John McCain's age who are fairly sharp, learning new stuff, and staying busy. If McCain has ossified it's more likely a function of his lifestyle and outlook - not a blanket prediction of doom for the rest of us.
What's great about this, Obama can surround himself with wise people and he will absorb their wisdom like a sponge. He can still learn. It's great to be young. I don't know why people act like it's a disease or something.
Someone 72, even if their mom is 96, is not the same as someone 47, in all areas. Learning especially is not as easy. It can happen, its just not easy, it takes more time. The presidency takes a toll on everyone that has held the office, they all age, and if you're already 72, well....Pr
How come the rest of the world has to retire at 65 or so, but those old crones in government go forever.
Here's a wonderful article which shares qualities of learning and first-hand accounts of people Obama knew throughout his life. Obama's character and desire for learning has been a constant in his life as well as other attributes we all recognize in him.
"Obama as we knew him ... man and boy."
http://www
I guarantee you will enjoy learning details about Obama that are both insightful and heart warming. I'm sending this to friends and family. A must read for all Obama supporters IMHO.
Obama/Biden '08/12
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
