title: Adult age differences and the role of cognitive resources in perceptual-motor skill acquisition: application of a multilevel negative exponential model.
abstract: The effects of advanced age and cognitive resources on the course of skill acquisition are unclear, and discrepancies among studies may reflect limitations of data analytic approaches. We applied a multilevel negative exponential model to skill acquisition data from 80 trials (four 20-trial blocks) of a pursuit rotor task administered to healthy adults (19-80 years old). The analyses conducted at the single-trial level indicated that the negative exponential function described performance well. Learning parameters correlated with measures of task-relevant cognitive resources on all blocks except the last and with age on all blocks after the second. Thus, age differences in motor skill acquisition may evolve in 2 phases: In the first, age differences are collinear with individual differences in task-relevant cognitive resources; in the second, age differences orthogonal to these resources emerge.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, 4136 UniMail, Boulevard du Pont d'Arve 40, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland. paolo.ghisletta@unige.ch
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ghisletta
authors.forename: Kristen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Rodrigue
authors.forename: Ulman
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lindenberger
authors.forename: Naftali
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Raz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult