title: Motivational incentives modulate age differences in visual perception.
abstract: This study examined whether motivational incentives modulate age-related perceptual deficits. Younger and older adults performed a perceptual discrimination task in which bicolored stimuli had to be classified according to their dominating color. The valent color was associated with either a positive or negative payoff, whereas the neutral color was not associated with a payoff. Effects of incentives on perceptual efficiency and response bias were estimated using the diffusion model (Ratcliff, 1978). Perception of neutral stimuli showed age-related decline, whereas perception of valent stimuli, both positive and negative, showed no age difference. This finding is interpreted in terms of preserved top-down control over the allocation of perceptual processing resources in healthy aging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. jspaniol@psych.ryerson.ca
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spaniol
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Voss
authors.forename: Holly J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Bowen
authors.forename: Cheryl L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Grady
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003116:Color; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009042:Motivation; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult