Abstract
The effects of aging on response time were examined in a paper-based lexical-decision experiment with younger (age 18–36) and older (age 64–75) adults, applying Ratcliff’s diffusion model. Using digital pens allowed the paper-based assessment of response times for single items. Age differences previously reported by Ratcliff and colleagues in computer-based experiments were partly replicated: older adults responded more conservatively than younger adults and showed a slowing of their nondecision components of RT by 53 ms. The rates of evidence accumulation (drift rate) showed no age-related differences. Participants with a higher score in a vocabulary test also had higher drift rates. The experiment demonstrates the possibility to use formal processing models with paper-based tests.
Highlights
Given that paper-based tests are still commonly used in commonly used in cognitive aging research and practice, this study aimed to demonstrate the utility cognitive aging research and practice, this study aimed to demonstrate the utility of the diffusion of the diffusion model for paper-based tests of processing speed by applying new technologies in a lexical decision task
Considering the response times, the older participants were somewhat slower than the younger participants: their correct reaction times (RTs) to words were on average 14 ms longer and their correct RTs to nonwords on average 68 ms
ResultsThe showed, that younger olderand adults didadults not differ not differ in their response times; second, that the older adults applied more conservative decision in their response times; second, that the older adults applied more conservative decision criteria; criteria; third, thatadults older adults not differ from younger the accumulation of evidence; third, that older did notdid differ from younger adultsadults in theinaccumulation of evidence; and and fourth, that the nondecision component of was on average ms longer for the older than fourth, that the nondecision component of RT was on average 53 ms longer for the older than for for the the younger adults
Summary
The finding that older adults, on average, perform more slowly than younger adults in speeded cognitive tasks is one of the mostly studied and highly solid phenomena in cognitive aging research [1,2]. Despite differences in the processes assumed to account for age-related slowing, all theoretical accounts introduce a general slowing factor describing older adults’ performance as an approximately linear function of younger adults’ performance. As has been typically reported in cognitive aging research [33,34], older adults showed worse performance than younger adults in a test of processing speed [i.e., digit-symbol substitution coding, 24; t(38) = 4.95, p < 0.05], but outperformed younger adults in a vocabulary test (30; t(38) = −3.28, p < 0.05), see Table 1.
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