Fozard J L, Thomas J C, Waugh N C
J Gerontol. 1976 Sep;31(5):556-63. doi: 10.1093/geronj/31.5.556.
Binary choice-reaction times for 123 males, 25-79 years of age, were obtained in a sequence of discrete trials in which the proportion of occasions that the same stimulus was presented twice in succession varied from .25, .50, and .75 or from .75, .50, and .25 over successive thirds of the sequence. Stimulus alternations were responded to more rapidly than stimulus repetitions by subjects in all age groups, especially in trial blocks with .75 alterations. The absolute differences in mean reaction time to stimulus alterations and repetitions increased with age. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that reaction times are affected both by pre-existing expectations for stimulus alternations as well as expectations for stimulus alternations or repetitions developed during the course of the experiment. Mean response latency as well as between- and within-subject variability in performance increased with age. Analyses of frequency distributions of the reaction times indicated that the psychomotor component of reaction time increases with age while the decision-making component becomes more variable.
对123名年龄在25至79岁之间的男性进行了二元选择反应时间测试，测试以一系列离散试验的形式进行。在这些试验中，同一刺激连续两次出现的比例在序列的连续三分之一中分别为0.25、0.50和0.75，或者从0.75、0.50和0.25变化。所有年龄组的受试者对刺激交替的反应都比对刺激重复的反应更快，尤其是在交替比例为0.75的试验组中。对刺激交替和重复的平均反应时间的绝对差异随年龄增长而增加。结果与以下假设一致：反应时间既受预先存在的对刺激交替的预期影响，也受实验过程中形成的对刺激交替或重复的预期影响。平均反应潜伏期以及受试者间和受试者内表现的变异性都随年龄增长而增加。对反应时间频率分布的分析表明，反应时间的心理运动成分随年龄增长而增加，而决策成分则变得更具变异性。
