From the age of 40, people have more difficulty suppressing the literal meanings of figurative language. This has emerged from research by RUG researcher Amélie la Roi.
Although language processing slows down as you get older, La Roi states that it remains very efficient into old age. “The knowledge of expressions increases with age, but their processing depends in part on cognitive skills, which in fact deteriorate with age,” says La Roi. Older people, unlike young adults, really need that context information for processing literal sentences, and less for figurative expressions.
“A lot of research has been done into the effects of aging on memory, for example. But little is known about how language skills change, ”continues La Roi. “Now that the effects of cognitive aging on language processing appear to start around the age of 40, it is important to include middle-aged adults in such research.”
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