Coupled Changes in Daily Control Beliefs and Cognition: Variations by Education and Income

Although the association between perceived control and long-term trajectories of cognitive functioning is well-established, little is known about how day-to-day changes in control are linked to daily cognition or how this relationship may differ across socioeconomic lines. This study examined whether daily changes in perceived control were coupled with dynamic shifts in episodic memory and the extent to which this association was pronounced for middle-aged and older adults with lower education or income. We analyzed 14 days of data from the Modifiable Antecedents of Memory and Behavior in Adulthood (MAMBA) Study using multilevel models ( n = 208, M age = 54 years, range = 30–81; 64% female). Main effect models showed that daily, within-person increases in perceived control were positively, but not significantly, associated with changes in episodic memory (γ = .055, p = .068). Moderation models indicated that this relationship depended on individual differences in income, but not education: The within-person association between daily perceived control and episodic memory emerged for those with lower (γ = .123, p = .002), but not higher (γ = −.014, p = .735), levels of income. Findings inform theories of lifespan development in providing initial evidence that micro-longitudinal increases in perceived control are linked to dynamic changes in daily cognition for socioeconomic populations at increased risk of cognitive declines.