B - 78 Virtual Reality Versus Analog Performance and the Age-Related Paradox of Prospective Memory.

Abstract

A prospective memory (PM) task in virtual reality (VR) was developed to investigate whether older adults perform better when tested in true-to-life environments, as they do in naturalistic environments according to the age-related paradox. The purpose of this study was to compare younger and older adults on PM tasks in analog and VR environments. Older adults (N = 87; ages 60-90) and younger adults (N = 54; ages 18-26) were administered PM tasks using analog and virtual reality environments, as part of the Virtual Kitchen Protocol. A two-way, mixed-subjects analysis of variance indicated that both age groups performed better on the analog PM task than on the VR task (F[1, 139] = 48.32, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.26), and that younger adults performed better than older adults on both PM tasks (F[1, 139] = 76.90, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.36). While PM performance was higher on the analog task for both age groups, performance on the VR task decreased similarly for younger and older adults. The life-like distractors in VR appeared to impact both age cohorts equivalently, suggesting that VR assessment is equally valid with older adults as it is with younger adults. Although the VR setting was selected to imitate real life, the environment details did not appear specific enough to replicate the boost found in older adults' PM in naturalistic environments. Future research on PM should model VR tasks after individuals' home environments to tap into the over-learned habits utilized in individuals' everyday lives.