Multisession, dual-task psychological refractory period practice benefits older and younger adults equally.
The authors tested 18 younger adults and 18 older adults on four sessions in a psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm, to see whether older adults can benefit as much from dual-task practice as younger adults. Task 1 involved tone discrimination and Task 2 involved simultaneous letter-matching. The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the tasks was either 50, 150, 300, or 900 ms. Although older adults showed a larger PRP effect than younger adults, there were no group differences in the practice/training benefit. These results differ from Maquestiaux, Hartley, and Bertsch (2004, Psychology and Aging, 19, 649-667, Experiment 1), who found that age differences in PRP effects became progressively larger with increased practice. These findings, along with the simultaneous-presentation, dual-task work of Kramer, Larish, and Strayer (1995, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 1, 50-76) and Bherer et al. (2005, Psychology and Aging, 20, 695-709; 2006, Acta Psychologica, 123, 261-278), suggest that older adults can benefit as much as younger adults from dual-task training.
Allen
Philip A
PA
Department of Psychology, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-4301, USA. paallen@uakron.edu
Ruthruff
Eric
E
Elicker
Joelle D
JD
Lien
Mei-Ching
MC
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012033:Refractory Period, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult