Research has demonstrated the cognitive and mental health benefits of learning new skills and content across the life span, enhancing knowledge as well as cognitive performance. We argue that the importance of this learning – which is not available equally to all – goes beyond the cognitive and mental health benefits. Learning is important for not only the maintenance, but also enhancement of functional independence in a dynamic environment, such as changes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and technological advances. Learning difficult skills and content is a privilege because the opportunities for learning are neither guaranteed nor universal, and it requires personal and social engagement, time, motivation, and societal support. This paper highlights the importance of considering learning new skills and content as an important privilege across the life span and argues that this privilege becomes increasingly exclusionary as individuals age, when social and infrastructural support for learning decreases. We highlight research on the potential positive and negative impacts of retirement, when accessibility to learning opportunities may vary, and research on learning barriers due to low expectations and limited resources from poverty. We conclude that addressing barriers to lifelong learning would advance theories on life span cognitive development and raise the bar for successful aging. In doing so, our society might imagine and achieve previously unrealized gains in life span cognitive development, through late adulthood.
Human Development

中文翻译：

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学习是一项重要特权：终身观点对成功老龄化的影响

研究表明，在整个生命周期中学习新技能和内容对认知和心理健康都有好处，可以增强知识和认知表现。我们认为，这种学习的重要性（不是所有人都能平等获得的）超出了认知和心理健康的益处。学习不仅对于动态环境中的维护非常重要，而且对于增强功能独立性也很重要，例如COVID-19大流行和技术进步引起的变化。学习困难的技能和内容是一种特权，因为学习的机会既不能保证也不是普遍的，并且需要个人和社会参与，时间，动力和社会支持。本文强调了考虑将新技能和新内容作为一项学习的重要性。终身享有的重要特权，他认为，随着个人年龄的增长，社会和基础设施对学习的支持减少，这种特权就越来越被排斥在外。我们着重研究在获得学习机会的机会可能不同时退休可能带来的正面和负面影响的研究，以及由于期望值低和贫困资源有限而导致的学习障碍的研究。我们得出的结论是，解决终身学习的障碍将提高关于终身认知发展的理论，并提高成功衰老的门槛。这样，我们的社会可能会想象并通过成年后期实现以前在认知发展中未实现的人生收获。
人类发展