Date on Senior Honors Thesis

5-2015

Document Type

Senior Honors Thesis

Department

Psychological and Brain Sciences

Degree Program

College of Arts and Sciences

Author's Keywords

Perceived enjoyable activities; Cognition

Abstract

Previous research suggests that more involvement in various activities can help delay cognitive decline in older adults. Few studies have examined both the impact of frequency and perceived enjoyment of different types of activities on cognition. This study analyzed the relationship between frequency and pleasure of activities and cognition by running correlations using the five different subscales of the California Older Person’s Pleasant Events Schedule (COPPES) and a battery of cognitive tests (Block Design, Animal Naming, Boston Naming Test, Trails A, Trails B, CVLT-LDFR, & Digit Span). It was hypothesized that higher frequency as well as higher level of enjoyment of activities would be positively correlated with cognitive functioning in older adults. The hypotheses were partially supported. Consistent with the hypotheses, there were significant positive correlations between BNT and both Relaxing Frequency and Pleasure, Contemplating Pleasure, Being Effective Pleasure, and both Doing Frequency and Pleasure. Also consistent with the hypotheses, there were significant negative correlations between Trails B and Being Effective Frequency as well as both Doing Frequency and Pleasure. These results imply that higher frequency as well as more enjoyment of certain types of activities may have a positive impact on cognition in later life.

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