Age differences in dual-task performance after practice.
This study investigated whether older adults could acquire the ability to perform 2 cognitive operations in parallel in a paradigm in which young adults had been shown to be able to do so (K. Oberauer & R. Kliegl, 2004). Twelve young and 12 older adults practiced a numerical and a visuospatial continuous memory updating task in single-task and dual-task conditions for 16 to 24 sessions. After practice, 9 young adults were able to process the 2 tasks without dual-task costs, but none of the older adults had reached the criterion of parallel processing. The results suggest a qualitative difference between young and older adults in how they approach dual-task situations.
Göthe
Katrin
K
Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, 14415 Potsdam, Germany. kgoethe@rz.uni-potsdam.de
Oberauer
Klaus
K
Kliegl
Reinhold
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D011340:Problem Solving; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time