Older adults show performance decrements in divided-attention visual localization tasks, exacerbated by distractors and greater eccentricity, despite intact central-task performance¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2012 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? When only the central target must be identified, young and older adults perform similarly, but older adults show decrements when also localizing a peripheral target, worsened by distractors and greater eccentricity. → Owsley Cynthia 2012

Evidence¶

Owsley Cynthia 2012¶

Owsley Cynthia. (2012). Visual Processing Speed. Vision Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2012.11.014

q2 · i? · review · r3

The review reports Sekuler and Ball's laboratory analog using brief 125 ms displays with a center discrimination task and a peripheral radial-localization task at 5°, 10°, or 15° eccentricity. It states that "older adults showed decrements in performance" under divided attention, exacerbated by distractors, with age differences greater at larger eccentricities.

"However when also required to specify the radial location of a peripherally presented target out to 15°, older adults showed decrements in performance, which were further exacerbated when targets were presented among visual distractors."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Attention — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Visual distraction impairs categorization in older adults but not younger adults, who perform equivalently without distraction — related
• Older adults show greater distractibility than younger adults during episodic retrieval of long-term memory details — related
• Distraction during maintenance impairs working memory, with distractor processing inversely related to recognition accuracy — related
• Adults show greater visual search accuracy than young children — related