Math and verbal fluency across adulthood provide insights into aging and individual differences
Yarden Gliksman, Itai Schwarz, Sharon Naparstek · 2026
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Description
Aging dulls quick calculation and quick word-finding, but not evenly. Yarden Gliksman, Itai Schwarz, and Sharon Naparstek compare the two across adulthood in a 2026 study. Fifty-two younger and older adults took fluency tests in all four arithmetic operations, both spoken and on a computer that timed every answer, plus standard verbal fluency tasks.
Older adults were less fluent at math in both formats. Division and subtraction slipped most with age, while addition held up best. Among the older group, more education predicted stronger performance, and longer retirement predicted weaker scores. Word fluency also declined, but less steeply than math. The authors read the pattern as a broad fluency decline with operation-specific weak points, shaped by schooling and by staying engaged.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Yarden Gliksman, Itai Schwarz, Sharon Naparstek |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 58 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |