Training older adults to search more effectively: scanning strategy and visual search in dynamic displays.
The authors examined the ability of older adults to modify their search strategies to detect changes in dynamic displays. Older adults who made few eye movements during search (i.e., covert searchers) were faster and more accurate compared with individuals who made many eye movements (i.e., overt searchers). When overt searchers were instructed to adopt a covert search strategy, target detection performance increased to the level of natural covert searchers. Similarly, covert searchers instructed to search overtly exhibited a decrease in target detection performance. These data suggest that with instructions and minimal practice, older adults can ameliorate the cost of a poor search strategy.
Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. a-kramer@uiuc.edu
Ensar
E
Becic
Walter R
WR
Boot
Arthur F
AF
Kramer
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D005133:Eye Movements; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009039:Motion Perception; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D011930:Reaction Time; D012438:Saccades