Adult age differences in the implicit and explicit components of top-down attentional guidance during visual search.
Two experiments investigated adult age differences in the explicit (knowledge-based) and implicit (repetition priming) components of top-down attentional guidance during discrimination of a target singleton. Experiment 1 demonstrated an additional contribution of explicit top-down attention, relative to the implicit effect of repetition priming, which was similar in magnitude for younger and older adults. Experiment 2 examined repetition priming of target activation and distractor inhibition independently. The additional contribution of explicit top-down attention, relative to the repetition priming of distractor inhibition, was greater for older adults than for younger adults. The results suggest that some forms of top-down attentional control are preserved as a function of adult age and may operate in a compensatory manner.
Madden
David J
DJ
Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Box 2980, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. djm@geri.duke.edu
Whiting
Wythe L
WL
Spaniol
Julia
J
Bucur
Barbara
B
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014796:Visual Perception