The influence of age and age simulation on task-difficulty choices in motor tasks

Abstract

ABSTRACT Having a realistic perception of one’s motor abilities is important for successful aging. We used two different motor tasks, carrying a tray with cube-towers (study 1; n = 20 young adults; n = 20 older adults), and stepping over a crossbar (study 2; n = 23 young adults; n = 21 older adults), to investigate how physical risk influences task-difficulty choices. We also investigated the effect of wearing an age simulation suit on young adults. For the tray-carrying task, older adults were more risk-tolerant in their task-difficulty choices. When stepping over the crossbar, older adults left a larger “safety-buffer” than young adults. When wearing the age suit, young adults adopted a more careful strategy in the stepping task. We conclude that healthy older adults flexibly adjust their strategies to postural risks, and that young adults’ strategy-choices can be influenced by experimentally inducing some of the sensory-motor constraints of old age.