Since an ever-increasing proportion of the population falls into the category of “senior citizens”, it is vital to examine the impact of age on cognitive functioning. Evidence has shown that there is a decline in various domains of cognitive functioning, however, at the same time, studies have shown that aging does not necessarily affect all functions to the same degree. Regarding executive functions, research suggests that there are differences between young and older adults both in terms of structure, as well in problem-solving abilities and performance. Research in the area of everyday problem solving has pointed the distinction between well-defined and ill-defined problems. Evidence show differences in performance between young and older adults on well-defined problems and lab based problems, with young adults outperforming the older. Yet, ill-defined problem solving performance of older adults is significantly higher compared to young adults, making the relation of executive functions and ill-defined problem solving worth exploring. Additionally, person-related factors, such trait affect and self-efficacy, show to influence performance on ill-defined tasks, with higher levels of positive trait affect and higher self-efficacy in ecologically relevant problem boosting performance of older adults.
Keywords: executive functioning, everyday problem solving, affect, self-efficacy
