Which statement about aging and cognition is true?

• A. Processing speed and episodic memory commonly decline, while vocabulary and semantic memory are preserved.
• B. Processing speed improves with age.
• C. Episodic memory declines, but vocabulary declines as well.
• D. All cognitive abilities decline equally.

Answer: (A)

Aging affects different cognitive abilities in different ways. Processing speed tends to slow down as people get older because neural transmission and processing efficiency decline. Episodic memory, which is memory for specific events and experiences, also commonly declines with age, especially when recalling details or forming new memories. In contrast, vocabulary and semantic memory—the store of general knowledge and language that comes from lifelong experience—are crystallized skills that usually remain stable and can even improve with age. This pattern—slower processing and weaker episodic memory, with preserved or even strengthened vocabulary and semantic memory—matches what is typically observed in aging, making the statement accurate. The other options describe patterns that don’t align with how cognitive aging generally unfolds (improved processing speed, decline of vocabulary, or uniform decline across all abilities).