Age-related differences in concurrent-task performance of normal adults: Evidence for a decline in processing resources. |
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Authors: | Crossley, Margaret Hiscock, Merrill |
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Abstract: | A concurrent-task paradigm was used to investigate age-related differences in the attentional capacity of 92 right-handed adults. Young, middle-aged, and elderly Ss were compared as they performed speeded, unimanual finger tapping with and without concurrent silent reading, speaking, and maze completion. There were 2 levels of difficulty for each cognitive task. The decrement in tapping rate from the single- to dual-task condition increased linearly with age. Concurrent-task tapping was slowed more by difficult than by easy tasks, and difficult tasks had a disproportionately disruptive effect on the concurrent performance of elderly Ss. The heightened vulnerability of the elderly to concurrent-task effects cannot be attributed parsimoniously to either general slowing or diminution of a specific resource. Instead, the results suggest a reduction in a general-purpose processing resource with increasing age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
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