Consistently with aging models, our results support the view of
aging as a multidimensional and multidirectional stage of life
(Baltes & Staudinger, 2000), in which some skills are lost, but there
are also strengths that older adults can exploit to cope with their
loss (Baltes & Baltes, 1990). One such strength concerns their individual
visuo-spatial skills: even though they decline with aging,
these abilities have an important role in supporting environment
representation, especially when tested in terms of the active
management of spatial information tasks. The present study findings
can thus be interpreted in the light of what we know about
both spatial cognition and aging.