Age-related differences in viewer-rotation tasks: is mental manipulation the key factor?
Using a viewer-centered frame of reference (VCFR) paradigm, we examined whether the necessity to mentally manipulate the frame of reference can explain why older adults were found to be impaired on a variety of spatial memory tasks. Twenty-four younger participants (18-35 years of age) and 24 older participants (65-78 years of age) performed a pointing task under four conditions in which a physical or imagined rotation was induced. In three conditions (updating, imagining, and ignoring), the frame of reference was shifted after encoding, which required a mental manipulation at the time of retrieval. In a control condition, the VCFR was held constant. Overall results show that the necessity to mentally manipulate the VCFR accentuates age-related differences. The presence of mental manipulation should therefore be considered when one is interpreting age-related differences found in spatial memory tasks.
School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Mélanie
M
Joanisse
Sylvain
S
Gagnon
Joshua
J
Kreller
Marie-Claude
MC
Charbonneau
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012399:Rotation; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception