Abstract
This study investigates the nature of age-related changes in performance on a perceptual maze test. A clear linear decline in overall level of performance was found in a cross-sectional study of 20- to 70-yr-old Ss. While some of this decline is due to slowing with age, a detailed analysis of specific components of Ss' response pathways also revealed certain qualitative changes. Although there was no significant evidence of reduced look-ahead or planning in the elderly, there was a clear increase in the proportion of straight-line responses and errors. In contrast to the performance of low-scoring younger Ss, the lower scores of older Ss are not due to their making more errors of all types since they show very selective changes in their response strategies on this task.
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