Work and intellectual aging: The psychological concomitants of social-organizational conditions

Previous research reveals a reciprocal relationship between the substantive nature of people’s work experience and their intellectual and personality functioning. The present study employed a cross-sectional comparison of 187 mid-level professional managers (age range 30 to 61, mean age = 43.4) to assess the relationship of several work-related variables and perceived intellectual aging. Results supported the hypothesis that older managers would report more intellectual processing decline than younger managers, but that both young and old managers would see themselves as equally competent. Delegation of decision-making responsibility was positively associated with years of supervisory experience, organizational level, and percentage of time spent managing people, but was unrelated to age. Controlling for work-related factors as well as age did not alter significant canonical correlational relationships between the usage of cognitive strategies (delegation, time management) and perceived intellectual efficacy. The implications of these results for training and educational intervention with managerial professionals are considered.