Which two cognitive abilities commonly decline with age, and which two are typically preserved?

• A. Declines in processing speed and episodic memory; preserved vocabulary and semantic memory.
• B. Increases in processing speed and episodic memory; preserved working memory and IQ.
• C. No changes in cognitive functions with age.
• D. Declines in vocabulary and semantic memory; preserved processing speed.

Answer: (A)

Aging often shifts the balance from flexible, quickly changing skills to the more stable, well-practiced knowledge we accumulate over a lifetime. Processing speed tends to slow down, meaning it takes longer to perceive, process, and respond to new information. Episodic memory—the ability to remember personal past events—also tends to decline as we age. In contrast, vocabulary and semantic memory—the general world knowledge, language, and facts we’ve learned over many years—are crystallized abilities that remain robust for most people, and can even improve with experience and exposure.

So, the statement that processing speed and episodic memory decline while vocabulary and semantic memory are preserved aligns with well-supported patterns of cognitive aging. The other possibilities don’t fit this established trend: expecting processing speed and episodic memory to improve contradicts the typical aging trajectory, claiming no changes across cognitive functions ignores common age-related declines, and suggesting vocabulary and semantic memory decline contradicts the preserved nature of crystallized knowledge.