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Retired? What Community Class Improves Intelligence?

Retired? What community class is recommended?
Cognitive decline – losing brain performance – as we age is big news.
In 2004, psychologists Helga and Tony Noice and Graham Staines developed a controlled study to test the effeciveness of different types of community classes on cognitive health.
They recruited 124 older adults age 60-86 from ‘senior centers’ in Dupage County, Illinois (USA) in their study, by posting notices in senior centers in DuPage County, Illinois. They posted this note:
Ah, but which art? Will you be learning about painting landscapes, playing the oboe, reciting Shakespeare, or writing verse? Only those who sign up will find out.
There were nine 90-minute classes in a month. Individuals were randomly put in these groups:
Theater workshop
Visual arts study
No training
Each group took cognitive tests at the beginning and at the end of the month. The results are shown in this graph:
The theater classes had the most dramatic effect. Compared to the ‘no training group’ there was improvement in all the cognitive tests after theater classes. The most dramatic effect is in IQ, with an increase of over 50% in intelligence from before to after the classes.
And the Theater classes were fun. The theater group also had the lowest drop-out rate of any group: All theater participants attended all 9 sessions, while 8 of the 44 visual arts students dropped out.
Take-home
Theater training — even over just a month – can help a lot with cognitive health in aging, countering cognitive decline.  Part of the reason theater classes are so effective may be due to the fact that the classes required full attention, there was continual learning and the information was new. Novelty is important.
Reference
Noice, H., Noice, T., & Staines, G. (2004). A Short-Term Intervention to Enhance Cognitive and Affective Functioning in Older Adults Journal of Aging and Health, 16(4), 562-585 DOI: 10.1177/0898264304265819

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Cognitive decline – losing brain performance – as we age is big news. Measures to maintain cognitive health are being researched all the time.

The study

In 2004, psychologists Helga and Tony Noice and Graham Staines developed a controlled study to test the effectiveness of different types of community classes on IQ and cognitive health.

They recruited 124 older adults age 60-86 from ‘senior centers’ in Dupage County, Illinois (USA) in their study, by posting notices in senior centers in DuPage County, Illinois. They posted this note:

Ah, but which art? Will you be learning about painting landscapes, playing the oboe, reciting Shakespeare, or writing verse? Only those who sign up will find out.

There were nine 90-minute classes in a month. Individuals were randomly put in these groups:

  • Theater workshop
  • Visual arts study
  • No training

Each group took cognitive tests at the beginning and at the end of the month. The results are shown in this graph:

 

Theater-and-IQ

The theater classes had the most dramatic effect. Compared to the ‘no training group’ there was improvement in all the cognitive tests after theater classes. The most dramatic effect is in IQ, with an increase of over 50% in intelligence from before to after the classes.

And the Theater classes were fun. The theater group also had the lowest drop-out rate of any group: All theater participants attended all 9 sessions, while 8 of the 44 visual arts students dropped out.

IQ tip

Theater training — even over just a month – can help a lot with cognitive health in aging, countering cognitive decline.  Part of the reason theater classes are so effective may be due to the fact that the classes required full attention, there was continual learning and the information was new. Novelty is important.

Reference

Noice, H., Noice, T., & Staines, G. (2004). A Short-Term Intervention to Enhance Cognitive and Affective Functioning in Older Adults. Journal of Aging and Health, 16(4), 562-585

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I am a cognitive scientist with a joint Ph.D in cognitive psychology and neuroscience from the Center of the Neural Basis of Cognition (Carnegie Mellon/Pittsburgh). At IQ Mindware we develop brain training interventions to increase IQ, critical thinking, decision making, creativity and executive functioning.

1 Comment

  • The researchers could perhaps offer dance classes! This includes music (known to help with Alzheimers as well as general well-being), rhythm, aerobic exercise (like running), human interaction, full attention, continual learning, new information and repeition for comfort and consolidation!

    Granny Pimm 24.01.2010
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