This
edition’s
article
has been
reviewed
by
Alison
Laver-Fawcett,
Deputy
Director
of RCOMH
and
Senior
Lecturer
at York
St. John
University…
Simon
Forstmeir
and
Andreas
Maercker
from the
Department
of
Psychology
at the
University
of
Zurich
have
investigated
the
effects
of
lifetime
motivational
abilities
on
cognitive
and
emotional
health
in old
age. The
authors
developed
a
Motivational
Reserve
model,
incorporating
motivational
and
cognitive
abilities,
which
they
have
studied
as a
predictor
of
cognitive
impairment
and
Alzheimer’s
disease.
Their
model
hypothesises
the
relationships
between
motivational
reserve,
cognitive
reserve,
stress
levels,
age and
cognitive
status.
In the
paper
they
provide
an
interesting
review
of the
research
literature
related
to both
motivational
abilities
and
cognitive
abilities
as
predictors
of later
cognitive
functioning
and
explore
the
evidence
related
to the
exercising
of
cognitive
abilities
as a
buffer
against
cognitive
decline
in old
age.
They
also
review
evidence
related
to how
motivational
abilities
reduce
the risk
of
depression
and
anxiety,
which
are in
turn
reported
as being
associated
with an
increased
risk of
subsequent
dementia.
Two
key
Motivational
Reserve
variables
are
identified
as ‘goal
orientation’
and
‘action
planning’
and the
four
sub-processes
of MR
are
described
as:
decision
regulation;
activation
regulation,
motivation
regulation;
and
self-efficacy.
Forstmeir
and
Maercker
explored
MR in an
occupational
context.
They
used the
term
‘occupational’
in a
narrow
sense
related
to
people’s
work
occupations
and
asserted
that an
occupational
context
is the
area of
a
person’s
life
where
motivational
abilities
‘play a
crucial
role in
reaching
one’s
goals,
to a
greater
extent
than in
other
areas’
(p888).
Their
study
involved
a sample
of 147
community-dwelling
people
(without
dementia)
recruited
from the
greater
Zurich
area.
Subjects
were
aged
between
60 – 94
years
and the
sample
was
stratified
for age
group,
sex and
education.
Subjects
were
given a
range of
standardised
measures
to
examine
motivation
(volition,
self-efficacy,
activation
regulation),
well-being
(satisfaction
with
life),
mental
health
(positive
and
negative
affect,
self-esteem
and
depression)
and
cognition.
The
researchers
also
cross-
referenced
subjects’
main
occupation
to the
Occupational
Information
Network
(O*Net)
to
estimate
each
person’s
midlife
motivational
and
cognitive
abilities.
[N.B.,
O*Net is
the
official
occupational
classification
system
used by
the
United
States
Department
of Labor].
In
this
study,
Forstmeir
and
Maercker
report
that
O*Net-estimated
motivational
abilities
predicted
cognitive
status,
psychological
well-being
and odds
of
mild-cognitive
impairment
when
age,
sex,
education
and
cognitive
ability
were
controlled.
However,
O*Net
cognitive
abilities
were not
found to
be
significant
predictors.
A major
limitation
of this
study is
the
cross-sectional
design
and the
authors
identify
the need
for
longitudinal
studies
to fully
test
their
model
and
examine
the
hypotheses
that
motivational
and
cognitive
abilities
can be
identified
through
a
person’s
main
occupation,
are
associated
with
motivational
reserve
and
cognitive
reserve,
and may
predict
cognitive
and
emotional
health
in later
life.
If
you
would
like to
read
this
article
the full
reference
is:
Forstmeier
S,
Maercker
(2008)
Motivational
reserve:
Lifetime
motivational
abilities
contribute
to
cognitive
and
emotional
health
in old
age.
Psychology
and
Aging,
23, 4,
886-899
Dr
Alison
Laver-Fawcett
Senior
Lecturer/
Deputy
Director
of RCOMH
York St.
John
University