Abstract: A study on the effects of age and educational factors on cognitive function was accomplished by using the methods of language-operation and mancomputer interaction in 12 tasks on 734 subjects of 46 to 75 years of age. The results indicated: 1) The effects of age and educational factors on the cognitive performances were not uniform in the different tasks. The obvious effect of age on the cognitive performances was observed in free recall of picture and meaningless picture recognition.The obvious effect of education on the cognitive performances was presented in picture classification, card classification and progressive matrices. Both age and educational factors showed a significant effect in symbol-digit, paired-association learning, visual and auditory digit span, No significant effects of age and educational factors were found for calculation. 2) The cognitive speed of 4 nonlexical tasks was influenced significantly by both age and educational factors.

Key words: aging, educational factor, cognitive function