Effects of age on performance in a finger-precuing task.
This study investigated age-related precuing effects in the finger-precuing task (J. Miller, 1982). In this task, a spatial precue provides partial advance information about which fingers to use for responding. Results indicated a substantial age-related deficit in preparing 2 fingers on 2 hands, but not on 1 hand. This disparate set of findings does not provide strong support for A. A. Hartley's (1993) hypothesis that anterior brain attention systems responsible for selection-for-action are compromised with advancing age. Finally, the authors report that advancing age increasingly slows reaction time more to the inner than to the outer stimulus-response positions. A possible mechanism of this age-related bowed stimulus-response position effect is discussed.
Adam
J J
JJ
Department of Movement Sciences, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. jos.adam@bw.unimaas.nl
Paas
F G
FG
Teeken
J C
JC
van Loon
E M
EM
van Boxtel
M P
MP
Houx
P J
PJ
Jolles
J
J
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*