relationships (test 2) Flashcards
define processing speed
the amount of time it takes for an individual to analyze incoming information from the senses, formulate decisions, and prepare a response (on the basis of that analysis)
is processing speed a fundamental unit of study in cognition and aging?
yes
define reaction time
the basic measure of processing speed
how do researchers measure reaction time?
researchers will ask participants to complete an action when the screen flashes a particular stimulus
what are the different types of reaction time tasks?
1) simple reaction time tasks
–> participants are instructed to make a response (ex. push a button) as soon as they see the target
2) choice reaction time tasks
–> participants must make one response for one stimulus and another response for a different stimulus
reaction times as a young adult will be ______ than as an old adult
LOWER (meaning quicker)
- age-effects: decreased reaction time (get slower with age)
what are the age-related hypotheses for reaction time?
1) general slowing hypothesis
- suggests that the increase in reaction time reflects a general decline of information processing speed within the nervous system of the aging individual
-(lack of efficiency in the CNS than the PNS)
2) age-complexity hypothesis
- suggests that through the slowing of central processes in the nervous system, older adults perform progressively more poorly as the tasks become more complex and their processing resources are stretched more and more to their limit
-(seen in the Brinley Plot)
what is the Brinley Plot?
A plot in which reaction times of older adults are graphed against those of younger adults
Findings:
easy tasks = more similar performance between younger and older adults (though, younger adults still have the advantage)
more difficult tasks = much larger difference in performance between younger and older adults
define attention
involves the (1) ability to focus or concentrate on a portion of experience while ignoring other features of that experience, (2) to be able to shift that focus as demanded by the situation, (3) and to be able to coordinate information from multiple sources
What are some types of attentional tasks?
- visual search task
- stroop test
- sustained attention task
define visual search tasks
these tasks require that the observer / participant locate a specific target among a set of distractors
what are the types of visual search tasks?
simple visual search:
- the target differs from the other stimuli by only one feature such as shape, colour, or size
(ex. task may be to respond by pushing a button every time you saw a specific target in front of the screen)
conjunction visual search:
- the target differs from the distractors in more than one way
(ex. may be asked to detect a red ‘X’, while stimuli may be different coloured letters)
what type of processing do visual search tasks rely on?
simple visual search
- parallel processing
–> able to scan the whole image at once, just looking for the one feature that matches that of the target
conjunction visual search
- serial processing (more time-consuming)
–> must scan EACH target to determine whether or not it has all the qualities of the target (typically need to detect 2+ features)
how does age impact the results of visual search tasks?
simple visual search:
older and younger adults perform relatively similar
conjunction visual search:
older and younger adults perform less efficiently ; however, its more difficult (requires more cognition) for older adults
what is the stroop test and what does it test for?
in this test, participants are asked to tell the name of the ink colour in which a word is printed
- tests for inhibitory control
good inhibitory control = quick and accurate performance in the stroop test
define inhibitory control
the process of turning off one response while performing another
what is the sustained attention task?
participants must only respond when they see a particular target appear in a continuous stream of stimuli
how do older adults perform in sustained attention tasks?
older adults tend to have more difficulty with this task because they take longer to shift their focus from trial to trial
what is the ‘over-the-hill’ mentality and how might it relate to aging?
Belief that the more one worries about how they are performing, the less able they are to concentrate on the task
–> those who are worried about the aging of their cognitive abilities are more likely to engage in identity accommodation
what are the theories of attention and aging?
attentional resources theory:
suggests that attention is a process that reflects the allocation of cognitive resources ; people must dedicate a certain proportion of their mental operations to certain objects or tasks
–> claims that older adults have greater difficulty on attentional tasks because they have a decreased availability of attentional resources, leading to longer times to respond
inhibitory deficit hypothesis:
suggests that aging reduces the individual’s ability to inhibit or tune out irrelevant information
–> claims that older adults will perform better when they have fewer distractions
what is the relationship between video game players and attention?
cognitive benefits:
- improved attentional capacity
- more efficient eye movement
- able to scan environments quicker
- better able to focus their attention and ignore distracting stimuli
- able to keep track of multiple targets at once
- ability to process rapidly changing streams of information
what is the relationship between driving and aging?
changes in basic cognitive function may impair older adult’s ability to drive safely
–> ex. loss of eye sight, reaction speed (although years of experience may compensate for these changes)
what is the biopsychosocial view on driving and aging?
bio:
changes in vision and reaction time
psycho:
internal distractions may cause anxiety
social:
distance from work, pleasure, and lack of public transportation services
–> prejudice from younger adults may increase driving anxiety
what is the dataset on motor vehicle fatalities for older adults?
older adults (65+) are more likely to be in motor vehicle accidents due to distractions
what is the general relationship between memory and aging?
the aging process has negative effects on many aspects of memory… BUT …not all aspects of memory are affected in the same way
define working memory
memory processes that keeps information temporarily available and active in consciousness
when is working memory being used?
when…
- trying to learn new information
- trying to bring information to mind that you previously learned (trying to recall)
how is working memory assessed?
by assigning a task to participants that prevents them from consciously rehearsing the information they are supposed to remember
- ex. the ‘n-back’ test
–> participants would be required to repeat the ‘nth’ item back in a list of items presented in serial order
what is the default network and how is it related to working memory?
default network: a circuit in the brain that is active when the brain is at rest while processing internal stimuli
–> includes: hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, cingulate cortex
2) during tasks that involve working memory, other areas of the brain become activated and the default network deactivates
–> deactivates when trying to recall information
–> age-related changes to the default network may contribute to poor working memory
define long-term memory (LTM)
the repository of information that is held for a period of time ranging from several minutes to a lifetime
–> contains information including the recent past (ex. where you put your keys 30 min ago) and from the far past (ex. your 8th birthday party)
what are the processes of LTM?
- encoding
- storage
- retrieval
define episodic memory
LTM for events (‘episodes’)
what are the age-related effects on episodic memory?
aging is related to impairments in episodic memory (in encoding and retrieving information)
–> age-related damage to the white matter which is important for transferring neural information between the frontal cortex and hippocampus
define scaffolding theory in terms of memory and aging
suggests that older adults are able to recruit neural circuits if needed by task demands to make up for losses suffered elsewhere in the brain
–> age-related structural changes may be compensated by a heightened activation of the prefrontal cortex
define remote memory
recall of information from the distant past
–> information that is stored and not accessed from remote memory becomes increasingly difficult to retrieve with passing years (except for autobiographical memory)
define autobiographical memory
the recall of information from your OWN past
define reminiscence bump
period of clear memories for the ages of about 10-30 years
- particularly strong for happy memories
- may be kept because the memory is central to the person’s identity
define flashbulb memory
the recall of important and distinct events that stand out from other memories of past events
- the emotional meaning makes the memories more distinct
define semantic memory
ability to recall word meanings and factual information
define procedural memory
the recall of actions involved in particular tasks (ex. playing the piano, riding a bike)
define implicit memory
LTM for information that is acquired without the intention of doing so
define source memory
the recall of where or how an individual acquires information (ex. trying to remember which one of your professors hinted at a pop-quiz)
define prospective memory
the recall of events to be performed in the future (ex. remembering to study for the class that may have a pop quiz)
define retrieval-induced forgetting (tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon)
being unable to remember information that a person knew at one point in time
–> more common in older adults
what are the types of memory that are affected by age (show age-related declines)?
age-related declines (SEP):
- source memory (also more susceptible to false or illusory memories)
- episodic memory
- prospective memory (slightly affected ; not as good as before)
what are the types of memory that are not affected by the aging process?
- semantic memory
- implicit memory
- procedural memory
what are some influences on retrieval failure?
- the frequency with which the information is typically needed for everyday use (more likely to forget infrequent information)
- exposure to new words/concepts that were not typical when the individual was younger
- being less well-educated (spec. face-naming tasks)
what is the identity process model?
a psychosocial model that predicts that unnecessary concerns about memory loss can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy
what are some psychosocial influences on memory?
“SIMM”
- stereotype threat
- identity process model (self-fulfilling prophecy)
- memory self-efficacy
- memory controllability
define memory self-efficacy
refers to the confidence one has in their memory ; specifically, the degree to which one feels that they can successfully complete a memory task
–> belief affects performance ; older adults feel less confident about their memory
define stereotype threat
a concept that people perform in way consistent with the negative stereotype of the group to which they view themselves as belonging to
–> a self-identification as ‘old’ may contribute to poorer performance
define memory controllability
refers to beliefs about the effects of the aging process on memory (beliefs on individual control over memory ability)
–> the extent to which an individual believes that memory decline is inevitable with age
