As your youth fades, your fear of aging may grow. The research results that my colleague and I recently published in the journal Intelligence might reassure you, because they reveal that there are very good reasons to be happy about getting older. Indeed, for many of us, psychological functioning actually peaks between the ages of 55 and 60.
This knowledge sheds light on why people in this age group can be assets in the professional environment, whether in solving complex problems or in exercising leadership.
Different types of picks
Numerous research findings indicate that humans reach the peak of their physical fitness between their mid-20s and early 30s.
A large body of research also establishes that it is also around the mid-20s that “raw” intellectual abilities – that is, the ability to reason, remember and process information quickly – generally begin to decline.
This pattern is reflected in the real world. Athletes generally reach their peak performance before the age of 30. Mathematicians often make their most significant contributions around the age of thirty. As for chess champions, they are rarely at the top of their game after 40 years old.
Yet if we look beyond just “raw processing capacity,” a very different picture emerges.
From reasoning ability to emotional stability
In our study, we went beyond just the faculty of reasoning. We focused on well-established psychological traits that meet several criteria: being able to be measured reliably, reflecting enduring characteristics rather than passing states, following well-documented age-related trajectories, and being known to predict individuals’ real-life performance.
Our research allowed us to identify sixteen psychological dimensions corresponding to these criteria. These included fundamental cognitive abilities, such as reasoning, memorization, processing speed, knowledge and even emotional intelligence.
Conscientiousness peaks around age 65, while emotional stability peaks around age 75.
Also included among these sixteen dimensions were the famous “Big Five”, or five major personality traits: extroversion, emotional stability (and its opposite, neuroticism, editor’s note), conscientiousness, openness to experience and agreeableness.
We identified and then compiled all the studies relating to these sixteen dimensions carried out on large cohorts. By standardizing them, using a common scale, we were able to make direct comparisons and map the evolution of each trait over the course of life.
A peak later in life
Many of the traits we measured peak much later in life. Thus, conscientiousness peaks around age 65, while emotional stability peaks around age 75.
Less often discussed dimensions, such as moral reasoning, also appear to flourish in old age. Likewise, the ability to resist cognitive biases—those mental shortcuts that can lead us to irrational or less accurate decisions—can continue to improve into age 70 or even 80.
If certain abilities decline with age, they are counterbalanced by the progression of other essential traits.
By combining the age-related trajectories of these sixteen dimensions into a weighted, theoretically and empirically supported index, a striking pattern emerged.
Overall mental functioning peaks between ages 55 and 60, before beginning to decline around age 65. This decline becomes more pronounced after age 75, which suggests that at an advanced age, the decline in abilities could accelerate once it has begun.
Put an end to preconceived ideas about age
Our findings could help explain why many of the most demanding leadership roles in business, politics or public life are often held by people in their 50s and 60s. If certain abilities decline with age, they are counterbalanced by the progression of other essential traits. Together, these skills promote better judgment and more thoughtful decision-making – all qualities that are crucial at the top.
Despite these findings, older workers are also those who face the greatest difficulties when it comes to re-entering the job market after job loss. To some extent, certain structural factors could influence hiring decisions. Recruiting a person in their fifties could, for example, be seen by employers as a short-term investment in the event of a probable retirement at age 60.
In other cases, certain professions impose a mandatory starting age. Thus, the International Civil Aviation Organization sets the age limit for international airline pilots at 65 years. In many countries, air traffic controllers must also retire between the ages of 56 and 60 (in France, the age limit is set at 59, editor’s note). Since these professions require particularly high levels of memory and attention, these age limits are often considered justified.
However, the situation is not the same from one person to another. Research has shown that while some adults see their thinking speed and memory decline as they age, others retain these abilities into old age. Age alone therefore does not determine overall cognitive functioning. Rather, assessments and assessments should be based on individuals’ real abilities and traits, rather than on assumptions related to their age.
A peak, not a countdown
Overall, these findings highlight the need for more age-inclusive hiring and retention practices that take into account that, for many people, getting older is an asset in the workplace.
Charles Darwin published The Ospecies origin at 50 years old. Ludwig Van Beethoven created his Symphony No. 9 at age 53 and when he was profoundly deaf. More recently, Lisa Su, now 55, hired US semiconductor, microprocessor and graphics card maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in one of the industry’s most dramatic technological turnarounds.
History is full of figures who made their greatest breakthroughs at ages well beyond what society often considers the “golden age.” Maybe it’s time to stop seeing maturity as a countdown, and recognize it for what it truly is: a peak.
