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| Research article summary (published 30 May 2003): |
Environmental support promotes expertise-based mitigation of age differences on pilot communication tasks.
Full Abstract
The authors investigated whether expertise is more likely to mitigate age declines when experts rely on environmental support in a pilot/Air Traffic Control (ATC) communication task. Pilots and nonpilots listened to ATC messages that described a route through an airspace, while they referred to a chart of the airspace. They read back (repeated) each message and then answered a probe question about the route. In a preliminary study, participants could take notes while listening to the messages and performing the read-back and probe tasks. In Experiment 1, opportunity to take notes was manipulated. Note taking determined when expertise mitigated age differences on the read-back task. With note taking, read-back accuracy declined with age for nonpilots but not for pilots. Without note taking, similar age-related declines occurred for pilots and nonpilots. Benefits of expertise, younger age, and note taking occurred for probe accuracy, but mitigation did not occur. The findings suggest that older adults take advantage of a domain-relevant form of environmental support (note taking) to maintain performance on some complex tasks despite typical age-related declines in cognitive ability.
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Author information
Author/s: Morrow, Daniel G (DG); Ridolfo, Heather E (HE); Menard, William E (WE); Sanborn, Adam (A); Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A L (EA); Magnor, Cliff (C); Herman, Larry (L); Teller, Thomas (T); Bryant, David (D);
Affiliation: Institute of Aviation, Aviation Human Factors Division, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Savoy 61874, USA. dgm(-atsign-)uiuc.edu
Grants: R01 AG13936 (Agency:United States NIA)
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
Journal: Psychology and aging (Psychol Aging), published in United States. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2003-Jun; vol 18 (issue 2) : pp 268-84
Dates: Created 2003/06/26; Completed 2003/10/31; Revised 2007/11/14;
PMID: 12825776, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
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