Cognitive Performance Measures in Survey Research on Older Adults

Many researchers wonder whether cognitive ability decreases in the elderly and surveys of the elderly tend to include tests of cognitive ability that allow survey administrators to reject certain peoples responses or adjust the weight given to responses based on the respondents cognitive ability. The author s discuss cognitive tests used in the AHEAD Study, methodological issues of such tests, and the validity of cognitive measures in these tests. After a great deal of testing they conclude that the survey measures for cognition in the two studies are valid. They also present a number of methodological problems within cognitive tests and ways to resolve such problems.