A-56 Predicting Performance on the Raven’s Matrices from the Findings of the Boston Longitudinal MIDUS Study

Abstract

Abstract Objective To examine the relationship between different cognitive measures and Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) during midlife. Methods Data was derived from a de-identified MIDUS-II database (n = 328, 57.8% male, Mage = 48.14, Meducation = 15.8, 93% Caucasian). All participants were administered cognitive tests consisting of several measures of cognitive ability (Trails-B, Vocabulary, Forward & Backward-Digit-Span, and Digit-Symbol-Substitution-Test (DSST)) and RPM. Results Pearson correlations were conducted between cognitive performance on various measures and performance on RPM. Using a Bonferroni correction across all correlations, p-value was set at .001. Better performance on RPM was negatively associated with Trails-B (r(139) = -.446,p = .001) and positively associated with Vocabulary (r(168) = .424,p = .001), Forward-Digit-Span (r(168) = .318,p = .001), Backward-Digit-Span (r(166) = .257,p = .001), DSST (r(166) = .516,p = .001). Conclusions Results suggest that DSST is the strongest predictor of RPM performance, followed by Trails-B. Reasons for the strong DSST correlation suggest the shared component of sustained attention, processing speed, working memory and set shifting. A moderate association with Trails-B implies the shared components of visual-conceptualization, visual motor tracking, and working memory. Both DSST and Trails-B not only require working memory, but also visuospatial skills, suggesting the use of high-level processes may be required for successful performance on the RPM. Moreover, visuospatial skills may be more strongly related to fluid intelligence than other abilities. This suggests that visualization skills to perceive and mentally reproduce patterns, mental rotation, and flexibility of closure to detect a stimulus hidden within a complex figure are all essential in RPM performance. Future studies should focus on gender and age differences in relation to visuospatial skills, specifically the age at which these differences occur.