Many people assume they’ve already reached their peak by the time they hit 30 – but new research suggests the opposite is true.
Scientists have discovered that humans don’t reach their highest levels of psychological functioning until between the ages of 55 and 60.
This is because decades of accumulated knowledge, emotional maturity and life experience outweigh the decline in raw mental speed, the researchers said.
And it suggests that middle age represents the ‘true apex of psychological readiness’.
The study, published in the journal Intelligence, reads: ‘Fluid intelligence, which peaks near age 20 and declines materially across adulthood, is often regarded as the most critical cognitive ability for predicting important life outcomes.
‘Yet, human achievement in domains such as career success tends to peak much later, typically between the ages of 55 and 60.
‘These findings suggest that functional capacity, defined in terms of key differential psychological traits, may peak in late midlife, closely aligning with the typical peak in career achievement.
‘Overall, cognitive-personality functioning peaks between ages 55 and 60.’
While some abilities such as cognitive flexibility and empathy decline with age, others -including emotional intelligence, financial literacy and moral reasoning – continue to improve well into later adulthood before eventually levelling off or declining
Famous faces that arguably reached their ‘peak’ during this timeframe include Boris Johnson (left) who became Prime Minister at the age of 55 and Liam Neeson (right), who starred in hit film Taken at the age of 56
For their study, a team from the University of Western Australia carried out a large review of major published research that had already measured how different psychological abilities change with age.
They selected nine broad areas they believed contribute to real-world success including reasoning ability, vocabulary, knowledge, working memory and processing speed.
They also included major personality traits, giving particular importance to conscientiousness – being organised, reliable and disciplined – and emotional stability, such as being able to remain calm under pressure.
For their analysis they combined all of these traits into one overall score called the Cognitive-Personality Functioning Index.
Overall, they found some abilities that began to decline from the 20s onwards, such as processing speed and working memory.
However, some were found to improve with age, including vocabulary, financial literacy, emotional intelligence, conscientiousness and emotional stability.
When all abilities were combined, they found psychological functioning peaked between the ages of 55 and 60.
Famous faces that arguably reached their ‘peak’ during this timeframe include Boris Johnson, who became Prime Minister at the age of 55, CRISPR scientist Jennifer Doudna who won a Nobel prize at 56, and Liam Neeson, who starred in hit film Taken at the age of 56.
The team found humans don’t reach their highest levels of overall psychological functioning until between the ages of 55 and 60
Based on their findings, the authors argue that people are probably best suited to high-level decision-making roles during late midlife.
They suggest that individuals occupying positions requiring complex judgement – such as senior executives, judges or political leaders – are unlikely to be at their best before the age of 40 or after the age of 65.
The study reads: ‘These converging patterns suggest that the late-midlife period may represent a high point not only in socioeconomic achievement but also in the underlying psychological capacities that support effective decision-making, leadership and complex role performance more broadly.’
The team explained that although brain volume begins to decline in the early 30s, other neural characteristics may help offset these degenerative effects.
