An experimental and computational analysis of age differences in the recognition of fragmented pictures: inhibitory connections versus speed of processing.
Young and older adults were tested for the ability to identify degraded pictures presented either in a series of incremental steps with each step increasing the completeness of the visual information (ascending condition) or in one single exposure (fixed condition). Significant interference effects, indicated by a superiority of fixed over ascending presentations, appeared at a lower level of performance for the older adults than for the young adults. This finding was consistent with the notion of an inhibition deficit operating in normal aging. A computer simulation, based on simple connectionist architecture, demonstrated that an age-related inhibition deficit in the identification of fragmented pictures can be produced by slowed processing rates.
Lindfield
K C
KC
Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454-9110, USA. lindfield@binah.cc.brandeis.edu
Wingfield
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011581:Psychological Tests; D013997:Time Factors