Age Differences In Performance Research Articles

The head bone's connected to the neck bone: when do toddlers represent their own body topography?

Developments in very young children's topographic representations of their own bodies were examined. Sixty-one 20- and 30-month-old children were administered tasks that indexed the ability to locate specific body parts on oneself and knowledge of how one's body parts are spatially organized, as well as body-size knowledge and self-awareness. Age differences in performance emerged for every task. Body-part localization and body spatial configuration knowledge were associated; however, body topography knowledge was not associated with body-size knowledge. Both were related to traditional measures of self-awareness, mediated by their common associations with age. It is concluded that children possess an explicit, if rudimentary, topographic representation of their own body's shape, structure, and size by 30 months of age.

Does Believing in “Use it or Lose It” Relate to Self-Rated Memory Control, Strategy Use, and Recall?

After an oral free recall task, participants were interviewed about their memory. Despite reporting similar levels of perceived personal control over memory, older and young adults differed in the means in which they believed memory could be controlled. Older adults cited health and wellness practices and exercising memory, consistent with a "use it or lose it" belief system, more often than young adults who were more likely to mention metacognition and flexible strategy use as means of memory control. Young adults reported using more effective relational strategies during study for a free recall test. Use of relational strategies predicted recall in both age groups, but did not materially affect age differences in performance. Metacognitive beliefs, including implicit theories about aging and memory decline, memory self-concept, and perceived control over memory functioning, did not systematically correlate with strategy use or recall.

Relational framework improves transitive inference across age groups

Transitive inference is a complex task, conducive to the use of multiple strategies. We investigated whether transitive inference accuracy can be improved by biasing strategy choice towards a proposition-based approach that relies on the extraction of relations among stimuli. We biased strategy choice by using familiar stimuli with known relations that tap prior knowledge. Semantic information led to increased accuracy for younger and older adults, and increased awareness of stimulus relations. Increased age was associated with reduced awareness. Awareness accounted for the variability in performance accuracy to a greater extent than age, as aware older and younger adults showed similar accuracies on all conditions. The current work indicates that age differences in performance can be minimized by providing semantically meaningful stimuli that bias participants to use a relational proposition-based approach.

Are Age Differences in Verbal Learning Related to Interstimulus Interval and Education?

The present study investigated the effects of a narrow range of interstimulus intervals (ISI; 1, 2, or 3 s) on word-learning performance in relation to age and education. Individuals (N = 338) from four age groups (24 to 76 years) with low or high educational attainment were randomly assigned to one of three ISI conditions. Older age, lower education, and shorter ISI each led to lower performance. However, age differences in performance were not affected by ISI. Furthermore, lower educated individuals needed more time to achieve the same performance level as higher educated individuals.

Age-related slowing of movement as basal ganglia dysfunction

AbstractAttributions of age-related deficits in motor function to structural changes are compromised once the elderly exhibit lower error rates. This is because performance decrements observed in older adults are attributed to inferred strategic preferences for accuracy over speed. To understand genuine age differences in performance, we argue in the following theoretical paper that research needs to resolve methodological shortcomings and account for them within theoretical models of aging. Accounts of aging need to directly manipulate or control strategic differences in performance while assessing structural deficits. When this is done, age-related changes in motor control resemble the intermittencies of control seen in basal ganglia disorders. Given homologous circuitry in the basal ganglia, such observations could generalize to age-related changes in cognitive and emotional processes.

Environmental Support: An Integrative Framework

In this qualitative review, we develop an integrative framework to bring coherence to the concept of environmental support (ES) in the fields of human factors and cognitive aging. The ES hypothesis, originally formulated to explain effects of retrieval support on age-related differences in memory by reducing need for self-initiated processing, has been applied to many domains, such that the concept now encompasses many manipulations and measures. We developed a framework in which different types of ES share a common function (external support of performance) but differ in how this function is accomplished. ES improves performance by reducing task demands on mental resources or promoting effective use of resources. Previous reviews show that ES can decrease age-related differences in performance (more benefit for older adults), provide equal benefit, or increase differences (more benefit for younger adults). We proposed that the outcome will depend on properties of the ES, task, and person. We applied our framework to the domains of language comprehension and human-computer interaction, selecting studies representative of differing outcomes for ES. In both domains, we found that outcomes depended on ES, task, and person. Age differences were more likely to be reduced by ES that imposed minimal prerequisites for use and targeted processes that needed support. Our review helps refine the ES concept by identifying conditions under which age differences in performance are reduced or magnified by ES. The framework provides guidance for human factors practitioners to design tasks and environments for older adults.

Reliance on Visible Speech Cues During Multimodal Language Processing: Individual and Age Differences

The current study demonstrates that when a strong inhibition process is invoked during multimodal (auditory-visual) language understanding: older adults perform worse than younger adults, visible speech does not benefit language-processing performance, and individual differences in measures of working memory for language do not predict performance. In contrast, in a task that does not invoke inhibition: adult age differences in performance are not obtained, visible speech benefits language performance, and individual differences in working memory predict performance. The results offer support for a framework for investigating multimodal language processing that incorporates assumptions about general information processing, individual differences in working memory capacity, and adult cognitive aging.

Awareness and Symbol Use Improves Future-Oriented Decision Making in Preschoolers

A child version of the Iowa Gambling task was used to explore the development of decision-making during the preschool period in two experiments. One hundred eighty-one children, 3.5 and 4.5 years of age, were asked to choose between a “bad” deck with higher immediate but lower long-term rewards and a “good” deck with lower immediate but higher long-term rewards. Experiment 1 explored age differences and the association of the gambling task with a delay of gratification task. Age differences in performance were found, supporting previous findings (Kerr & Zelazo, 2004) of a development difference between 3- and 4-year-old children in future-oriented decision making. Performance on the gambling task was found to be significantly associated with delay of gratification for 3.5-year-old children only. Experiment 2 explored the effect of labeling and symbol use on performance. Although having 4.5-year-old children label decks as good or bad improved their performance on the task, this labeling had no effect on 3.5-year-old children's performance. However, having 3.5-year-old children place a symbol representing “good” and “bad” next to the decks did improve performance, but only for those children who were able to correctly label the decks. These results suggest an interaction between conscious awareness, symbol use, and making advantageous future-oriented decisions during the preschool period.

Awareness and Symbol Use Improves Future-Oriented Decision Making in Preschoolers

A child version of the Iowa Gambling task was used to explore the development of decision-making during the preschool period in two experiments. One hundred eighty-one children, 3.5 and 4.5 years of age, were asked to choose between a bad deck with higher immediate but lower long-term rewards and a good deck with lower immediate but higher long-term rewards. Experiment 1 explored age differences and the association of the gambling task with a delay of gratification task. Age differences in performance were found, supporting previous findings (Kerr & Zelazo, 2004) of a development difference between 3- and 4-year-old children in future-oriented decision making. Performance on the gambling task was found to be significantly associated with delay of gratification for 3.5-year-old children only. Experiment 2 explored the effect of labeling and symbol use on performance. Although having 4.5-year-old children label decks as good or bad improved their performance on the task, this labeling had no effect on 3.5-year-old childrens performance. However, having 3.5-year-old children place a symbol representing good and bad next to the decks did improve performance, but only for those children who were able to correctly label the decks. These results suggest an interaction between conscious awareness, symbol use, and making advantageous future-oriented decisions during the preschool period.

Masticatory performance in children and adolescents with Class I and II malocclusions

It is not fully understood whether masticatory performance is compromised in individuals with the more common forms of malocclusion (i.e. Class I and Class II). The aim of this prospective investigation was to establish the relationships between masticatory performance, malocclusion (type and severity), age, body size and gender, in children and adolescents. A total of 335 individuals were examined at the average ages of 6, 9, 12 and 15 years. Each subject's occlusal status was described by Angle classification and by the Peer Assessment Ratio (PAR) index. Masticatory performance was quantified by the median particle size (MPS) and the broadness of particle distribution using artificial food. Masticatory performance improved significantly with age. The 6-year-old children were less able to break down the food particles (MPS 4.20 mm2) than the 15 year olds (MPS 3.24 mm2). Analysis of covariance showed that age differences in performance are related to an increase in body size. There were statistically significant differences in masticatory performance between children with normal occlusion and those with a Class I malocclusion; no differences were found between normal occlusion and Class II malocclusion. Gender differences did not explain the variation in masticatory performance. It is concluded that occlusal indices are not reliable predictors of masticatory performance. Traditional descriptors of malocclusion type and severity apparently cannot explain most of the variation in masticatory performance in children and adolescents.

Memory and Aging in Context.

Much research has indicated that aging is accompanied by decrements in memory performance across a wide variety of tasks and situations. A dominant perspective is that these age differences reflect normative changes in the integrity and efficiency of the information-processing system. Contextual perspectives of development, however, argue for consideration of a broader constellation of factors as determinants of both intraindividual change and interindividual variation in memory functioning. The validity of the contextual perspective in characterizing the relationship between aging and memory is examined through a review of studies exploring a variety of alternative mechanisms associated with age differences in performance. It is concluded that a more multidimensional approach to the study of aging and memory is warranted.

Memory for temporal context: Effects of ageing, encoding instructions, and retrieval strategies

Young and older adults were compared on a list discrimination task. In Experiment 1, performance declined with ageing after incidental and intentional encoding of the temporal context. Moreover, there was no benefit for intentional encoding in either group. In Experiment 2, each list was associated with a different encoding context. There were age differences in performance when participants tried to retrieve the encoding context of the items as a cue for their list of occurrence, but not when participants evaluated temporal distance from the strength of the memory trace. This suggests that the age-related decrease in list discrimination could be at least partly due to a difficulty in inferring strategically the temporal context of the items from information encoded in the same time.

Age and time-of-day effects on learning and memory in a non-matching-to-sample test

This study provides further evidence that the time-of-day (TOD) when testing is conducted affects cognitive performance in old rats and, for the first time in an animal model, in young adult rats as well. Groups of young and old rats were entrained to a 12-h light–dark schedule and administered tests of learning and memory in a non-matching-to-sample (NMTS) task in a water maze. Testing was conducted at the beginning of the rats’ activity cycle (AM) or at the end of the cycle (PM). In addition to age differences in performing the task, there were major findings with respect to time of testing: (1) young rats tested in the PM were better than young rats tested in the AM at learning the NMTS rule and in the delayed-NMTS (DNMTS) task; (2) old rats tested in the AM were better than PM-tested old rats on the DNMTS task, with the former attaining performance levels that approximated those of young rats; (3) the TOD effect in old rats extended to a DNMTS reversal (DNMTS-R) condition in which rats, originally tested in the AM, subsequently were administered the test in the PM, and vice versa; (4) the TOD effects in young and old rats in the DNMTS and DNMTS-R tests were strongest at relatively long delays, suggesting that hippocampal function may be particularly vulnerable to such effects; (5) there was evidence in the old rats of a relationship between diurnal drinking patterns and performance at the longest delay in the DNMTS test. These results, which parallel similar findings with human subjects, emphasize a linkage between circadian rhythmicity and cognitive performance throughout adulthood, and indicate the importance of circadian disruption in old age as a contributing factor to age differences in learning and memory performance.

Age-related differences in performance on the Wisconsin card sorting test: a meta-analytic review.

Two meta-analyses investigating age-related differences in performance on a popular measure of executive function, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), are reported. The 1st meta-analysis examined age-related changes in performance for the number of categories achieved, and the 2nd meta-analysis examined performance for the number of perseverative errors committed. Results indicated that robust age differences were present on both measures. Further analysis of moderator variables revealed reliable effects of education and test version on both measures, whereas test modality led to marginally significant differences in effect sizes obtained only for the number of categories achieved. Findings are discussed along with current accounts of age differences in performance of the WCST.

Effects of age, speech rate, and environmental support in using telephone voice menu systems.

Age differences in the use of telephone menu systems were investigated in two experiments. Participants from three age groups (younger: 18-39; middle-aged: 40-59; older: 60+ years) were required to obtain specified information or perform some action using simulated voice menu systems. Measures reflecting task performance, menu navigation, and subjective responses were collected. The focus in Experiment 1 was on examining the effect of speech rate. Data from 196 participants indicated age differences in performance, especially for complex problems. There was no effect of speech rate on any of the performance measures. Experiment 2 examined two types of support devices: a screen phone and a graphical aid. Data from 114 participants indicated that the screen phone provided some benefits in navigational efficiency. In terms of performance, the older participants benefited more from the graphical aid and the younger participants performed better with the screen phone. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidance in the use of support devices that can reduce memory demands and the identification of appropriate speech rates.

Children's memory of a physical examination: A comparison of recall and recognition assessment protocols

Previous studies of children's abilities to remember the details of salient personal experiences have consistently obtained age differences in various aspects of memory performance. For example, research on children's memory for recent physical examinations indicates that 3-year-olds provide less information in response to open-ended questions and exhibit more forgetting over time than do older children. Given these findings, the present studies were designed to explore further the abilities of 3-year-olds to remember a specified visit to the doctor. In contrast to earlier investigations, in which young children's memory was assessed solely by a verbal protocol that began with broad, open-ended questions, the two studies reported here explored the usefulness of a recognition-based assessment interview. Because of the context specificity that characterises children's memory performance, it was hypothesised that a recognition measure would provide a more sensitive index of the information available in young children's memory than would the standard interview, and thus lead to a reduction of the typically obtained age differences in performance. In contrast to these expectations, clear age differences in memory performance were observed among the children who received the recognition-based interview. Because these age differences stemmed largely from the 3-year-olds' high rate of false alarms to lures, the findings suggest that professionals who interview children should exercise caution when interpreting responses to yes-no questions. The convergence of these findings with recent results obtained in tests of Fuzzy-Trace Theory is also discussed.

Does performance on theory of mind tasks decline in old age?

In the first reported study of theory of mind (ToM; the ability to attribute mental states) in old age, Happe, Winner, and Brownell (1998) observed better performance on ToM tasks in older participants (mean age 73 years) than in young participants (mean age 21 years). We present two experiments exploring the generality of this finding. Experiment 1 compared young, young-old, and old-old age groups (mean ages 19, 67, and 81 years, respectively) on their understanding of ToM stories both with and without the need to remember the information, and control studies that did not require the ability to attribute mental states. For ToM stories with a memory load, the young group performed significantly better than both the young-old and old-old groups; without a memory load, the young and young-old groups performed significantly better than the old-old group. In Experiment 2, young and old-old age groups (mean ages 21 and 81 years, respectively) were compared on their understanding of ToM and control stories without the need to remember the information. Again, the young group performed significantly better than the old-old group on ToM stories. There were no significant age differences in performance on the control stories in either experiment. The age deficit on ToM stories remained significant after taking account of measures of vocabulary and processing speed (Experiments 1 and 2), and measures of executive functioning (Experiment 2).

Age and skilled performance: Contributions of working memory and processing speed

In this study, we examined the interrelationships among age, working memory (WM), processing speed, and the development of skilled performance. Younger ( M=20.5) and older ( M=68.9) adults were trained on an alphabet arithmetic task ( Haider & Frensch, 1996) administered across three consecutive days. Although older adults were slower than younger adults, both age groups’ response latencies decreased as a result of practice. Contrary to expectations, WM and processing speed were significantly correlated with performance late in training. Partial correlations suggested that age differences in performance at the end of training were mediated by individual differences in cognitive processing speed.

Aging and decision‐making competence: an analysis of comprehension and consistency skills in older versus younger adults considering health‐plan options

AbstractOlder adults need to maintain strong decision‐making capabilities as they age. However, we know little about how age‐related physical and psychological changes affect older adults' judgment and decision processes. This paper reports the results of research comparing older versus younger adults' performance on evaluation and choice tasks about health‐plan options. In particular, comprehension and consistency in judgments (across separate versus joint evaluation contexts) were examined. Results indicated that increasing age was related to greater comprehension errors and inconsistent preferences, even when covariates (education, income, gender, self‐perceived skill and health, decision style, and attitude toward delegation) were taken into account. Discussion of the results emphasizes difficulties in interpreting the meaning of age differences in performance on decision tasks and the need for research that ascertains the seriousness of the consequences of age differences in real‐life tasks. The implications for providing decision‐aiding interventions for older adults are highlighted. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Input devices: minimizing age differences in performance

Input devices: minimizing age differences in performance