ABSTRACT

In this chapter I address four main points. First, evaluating cognitive competence in adults, and perhaps especially older adults, may require attention to everyday contexts of performance not frequently considered in cognitive research. Second, one of the frequent contexts of cognitive performance in everyday life is social, interactional, or, put more functionally, collaborative in nature. Third, research on collaborative cognition in adults—especially developmental research—points to unique issues and faces numerous challenges, but has potential for substantial theoretical and practical implications. Fourth, providing some demonstration of the third point, highlights from a set of studies show that older adults can collaborate effectively on complex remembering tasks; indeed, select older collaborating groups may evince effects of both expertise and compensation.