Shalev Nir, Boettcher Sage, Nobre Anna C
Department of Gerontology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
The Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making (IIPDM), Haifa, Israel.
NPJ Sci Learn. 2024 Nov 21;9(1):70. doi: 10.1038/s41539-024-00281-3.
Older adults struggle with tasks requiring selective attention amidst distractions. Experimental observations about age-related decline have relied on visual search designs using static displays. However, natural environments often embed dynamic structures that afford proactive anticipation of task-relevant information. We investigate the capacity to benefit from spatiotemporal predictions across the adult lifespan. Participants (N = 300, aged 20-80) searched for multiple targets that faded in and out of displays among distractors. Half of the targets appeared at a fixed time and approximate location, whereas others appeared unpredictably. Overall search performance was reduced with age. Nevertheless, prediction-led behaviour, reflected in a higher detection of predictable targets, remained resistant to aging. Predictions were most pronounced when targets appeared in quick succession. When evaluating response speed, predictions were also significant but reduced with progressing age. While our findings confirm an age-related decline, we identified clear indications for proactive attentional guidance throughout adulthood.
老年人在分心的情况下完成需要选择性注意的任务时会遇到困难。关于与年龄相关衰退的实验观察依赖于使用静态显示的视觉搜索设计。然而，自然环境通常包含动态结构，这些结构能够主动预测与任务相关的信息。我们研究了在整个成年期从时空预测中受益的能力。参与者（N = 300，年龄在20 - 80岁之间）在干扰物中搜索在显示屏上淡入和淡出的多个目标。一半的目标出现在固定时间和大致位置，而其他目标则不可预测地出现。总体搜索性能随着年龄的增长而下降。然而，以预测为主导的行为，表现为对可预测目标的更高检测率，仍然不受衰老影响。当目标快速连续出现时，预测最为明显。在评估反应速度时，预测也很显著，但随着年龄的增长而降低。虽然我们的研究结果证实了与年龄相关的衰退，但我们也发现了在整个成年期进行主动注意力引导的明确迹象。
