Older adults show a small but disproportionate age-related cost of concurrent processing on storage accuracy in working memory dual tasks¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r3 · q3 · i0 negligible
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i0 The paired standardized mean difference (Hedges' g) in the single-versus-dual task cost is -0.182, indicating the single-dual difference is smaller for younger adults than older adults. → Jaroslawska 2019

Evidence¶

Jaroslawska 2019¶

Jaroslawska, A. J., & Rhodes, S. (2019). Adult Age Differences in the Effects of Processing on Storage in Working Memory: A Meta-Analysis. Psychology & Aging. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000358

q3 · i0 · quant-synthesis · r3

Random-effects meta-analysis of published dual-task studies comparing younger and older adults' storage accuracy, assuming a between-task correlation of 0.5. The paired standardized mean difference (Hedges' g = -0.182 [-0.282, -0.082]) was "-0.182 [-0.282, -0.082]", a small significant effect; Cochran's Q indicated residual heterogeneity.

"The standardized mean difference for this paired measure was estimated as -0.182 [-0.282, -0.082] (z = -3.568,p < 0.01) (Q(134) = 316.417,p < 0.01). The negative sign of this coefficient suggests that the single - dual task difference is smaller for younger adults relative to older."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Dual-task (secondary-task) measures offer concurrent cognitive load assessment but are rarely used — related
• Titration of storage task difficulty reduces the age difference in dual task costs to a non-significant level — related
• Brinley analysis of accuracy reveals two distinct functions differing in intercept for storage-only versus storage-plus-processing tasks, corroborating a disproportionate processing cost — related
• Titration of storage task difficulty substantially reduces age differences in both single-task and dual-task memory accuracy — related
• In a combined meta-regression, titration but not domain overlap reduces age differences in dual-task performance, with no interaction between the two factors — related