Getting old doesn't mean you won't be able to continue thinking for yourself. A new study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute and the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas found that aging does not correlate with deteriorating ability to think for ourselves.

The study, which looked at men and women in their 50s, 60s and 70s, found that those who demonstrated smart decision-making also excelled at strategic learning-the ability to sift more important information from the less important.

Although study participants in all three life stages had about the same strategic learning abilities, the oldest participant group slightly surpassed the rest, implying that strategic learning capacity may actually increase with age in normally functioning adults.