Perceptual processing and search efficiency of young and older adults in a simple-feature search task: a staircase approach.

Full Abstract

The reasons that visual search may sometimes be difficult, especially for older adults, remain important research issues. This study investigated (a) whether age-related differences can occur in simple-feature search, (b) if so, whether slowing adequately accounts for these differences, (c) whether other perceptual/cognitive factors are involved, and (d) the role of perceptual strategies. The authors tested 15 young adults (ages 18-30) and 15 older adults (ages 65-78). The target was a red disc presented among red diamonds in an array of 16 or 36 items. The forced-choice staircase procedure emphasized perceptual processing while deemphasizing decision-making and psychomotor processing. Although perceptual slowing may affect older adults' search performance, the perceptual slowing model is not simple, and other perceptual/cognitive factors, such as spatial resolution and distractibility, also are implicated. Moreover, perceptual strategies involving perceptual grouping or suppression of distractors play a key role in explaining why search efficiency is actually better for the larger set size.

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Author information

Author/s: Davis, Elizabeth Thorpe (ET); Fujawa, Greg (G); Shikano, Terry (T);

Affiliation: School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332-0170, USA. ed15(-atsign-)prism.gatech.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences (J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Jul; vol 57 (issue 4) : pp P324-37

Dates: Created 2002/06/26; Completed 2002/07/29; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12084783, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aging - psychology
Attention
Color Perception
Discrimination Learning
Female

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