Problem Çözme Performansında Yaşa Bağlı Farklılıklar

Problem çözme becerisi, bireyi pek çok açıdan etkileyen yeteneklerin başında gelmektedir ve başarılı yaşlanmada önemli bir yere sahiptir. Günlük problem çözme, bireyin günlük yaşantısında karşılaşabileceği problemlere getirdiği çözümleri incelemeyi içerir ki bunlar yemek hazırlamak, sosyal ilişkileri korumak veya önerilen bir tedaviyi sürdürmek olabilir. Araştırmalar problem çözme performansının bireyin bilişsel ve kişilik özellikleri ile birlikte içinde bulunduğu sosyal bağlam ile de oldukça yakından ilişkili olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu açıdan, günlük problem çözme süreci geniş bir bağlamda incelenmesi gereken çok yönlü dinamik bir süreç gerektirir. Problem çözme başarısının tanımı, yaşam boyu gelişim psikolojisi bakış açısına bağlı olarak değişiklik gösterse de araştırmalar problem çözme performansının yaşa bağlı farklı değişim örüntüleri olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Daha özgül olarak, bazı bulgular yaş arttıkça performansın azaldığını işaret etse de diğer araştırmacılar kuramlarla çatışır bir şekilde yaş ile problem çözme arasında negatif yönde doğrusal bir ilişki olmadığını ve bu bulguların çeşitlilik gösterdiğini belirtmişlerdir. Bu derlemenin amacı, psikoloji alan yazınında problem çözme yaklaşımlarını ele almak, bu beceri üzerinde etkili olabilecek olası faktörleri tartışmak ve bu beceriye dair güncel araştırma bulgularını sunmaktır.

Age Related Differences in Problem Solving Performance

The ability of problem-solving is one of the skills that are very influential in a person’s life and it also has critical importance on successful aging. The examination of daily problem-solving consists the solutions that an individual produces when faced with an everyday problem such as preparing a meal, maintaining a social relationship and/or following a recommended medical treatment. The recent studies show that problem-solving performance is very much related to the social context as well as it is related to cognitive abilities and personality traits. Since everyday problem-solving ability can be described as a versatile dynamic process, it should be studied in various contexts. Although the definition of success in problem-solving may vary through a lifespan development perspective, studies reveal that there are divergent patterns of change (decreased, increased or remained the same) in performance based on age. More specifically, some findings indicate that performance decreases as age increases, but other researchers have pointed out that there is no negative linear relationship between age and problem solving in conflict with theories and these fings vary. The aim of this review is to address recent approaches to problem-solving ability, discuss potential factors that may relate to this construct and summarize their recent findings.

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