Prior Research

According to research in the field of aging, older adults do better cognitively and, not surprisingly, physically, if they are able to maintain a reasonably strong sense of well-being, the term professionals in the positive psychology field use for the notion of happiness (see Seligman, 2011). There are two specific features of The Wiz Quiz that are designed to contribute to a sense of well-being. The first of these is the opportunity to engage socially with others. Studies as distant as China (Xiao, 2003), but also conducted within U.S. borders (Weismann, 2008) found that engagement in regular social activities was conducive to the well-being of older adults. Rossen (2007) found that the well-being of older adults in congregate living is inversely proportional to feelings of isolation. Further, research by Krueger et al. (2009) revealed a strong relationship between social support/social activity and cognitive functioning.

Beyond the contributions of social contact to well-being, there is also evidence from Dahua (2004), Guedea (2007), and Seipke (2008) that the well-being of older adults is increased if their lives include a number of reasonable challenges. The notion of “reasonable challenge”, that is, challenge that is approximately equal to the ability of the individual and thus neither overwhelming nor boring, is one of the hallmarks of the types of activities identified by Csikszentmihalyi’s (1990) research as those generating the greatest enjoyment or Flow for the individual.

Activity Design Features

The Wiz Quiz promotes socializing in multiple ways. During the activity, groups of participants are galvanized into a team, whose members confer with, congratulate, and encourage one another, sometimes even linking arms for a heightened sense of kinship at critical moments in the competition. There also is frequent banter among teams, and there is an abundance of give and take between participants and the host, who strives to maintain an atmosphere of consistent good cheer. Many new friendships have been formed because of initial contact in The Wiz Quiz.

Multiple features of The Wiz Quiz are designed to pose appropriate challenge to its participants. There is the challenge of teams at approximately equal knowledge levels competing against one another. In a sense, even within teams there is a form of competition as each member strives to be the first to answer. There is also the challenge of the questions, which are intentionally crafted to be somewhat complex. An additional challenge comes in the form of the 30-second time limit for answering, one point deducted from the team’s score for every second that ticks off the host’s stop watch.

The Wiz Quiz also includes mechanisms for lessening challenge when the need is apparent, so that it is at a level that does not overwhelm. Although working against the clock does constitute a challenge, the generous time limit is well suited to the processing speed of older adults. Challenge is also adjusted by the mode of questioning. In the initial phase of question presentation, items are presented in a recall mode, requiring that participants generate a response without any prompts beyond the stem of the item. If, however, a team is unable to answer correctly after 30 seconds, phase two of questioning takes place, and in addition to repetition of the original question stem, the host presents a four-option choice, which includes the correct answer and three plausible foils. This converts the task from recall to one of recognition, which is less difficult.

Findings of The Wiz Quiz Evaluations

A number of findings are consistent with a conclusion that The Wiz Quiz is contributing to a sense of well-being: participants say they look forward to the activity sessions (98%), they feel they benefit from the sessions (98%), and they feel satisfied at the end of a session of The Wiz Quiz (98%). The social atmosphere is a likely contributor to these favorable sentiments, as 100% described the atmosphere as friendly, and 96% said they enjoy being on a team even if they don’t answer a question.

Trends apparent in the responses to a number of other survey items indicated that a sense of well-being may be bolstered by engagement in an activity that poses an appropriate level of challenge. A majority described the questions as difficult, but this did not detract from the perception of benefitting from the activity. 86% enjoyed the complexity of the questions, and the same percentage thought that the team competition was not stressful. Finally, 96% felt that they had accomplished something when they answered a question.