Mejora del razonamiento analógico en ancianos [Improving Analog Reasoning in the Elderly]

Analogical reasoning is perhaps the core element of intelligent behavior and it has been related to successful aging. The present study aimed to impact the analogical reasoning of the elderly individuals through the application of an analogies protocol based on promoting fluency and flexibility (FFA) in relational responding. The FFA protocol was designed specifically for this study and according to the available information on relational behavior. A pre-post design with two conditions, five participants each ranged of 69 to 89 years old. At pre-test, participants responded to two WAIS subscales as well as to three analogies tasks specifically designed for the study. Then, fluency and flexibility analogies protocol (FFA) was applied to the participants of the experimental condition throughout a week. Subsequently, in post-test, the same measures used in the pre-test were applied. The FFA protocol had a significant impact on three of the five measures. The sensitivity of the tests was discussed as well as different ways to improve the protocol impact were all discussed. The relevant effect produced for most of the participants are discussed and highlighted.