Week 6: Sensation, Perception & Attention

Question 1

how is sight affected with age?

Answer 1

• anatomical changes (smaller pupil, larger/thicker lens)
• decreased motion and depth perception
• restricted UFOV

Question 2

how is taste affected with age?

Answer 2

• more associated with medications/conditions

- may lead to undernourishment

Question 3

how is hearing affected with age?

Answer 3

• stiffer and thinner ear drum
• calcification of ossicles
• degeneration of hair cells and auditory nerve

Question 4

how is smell affected with age?

Answer 4

• physiological changes in olfactory system

Question 5

how is proprioception (awareness of space) affected with age?

Answer 5

• lower sensitivity for detecting limb movement

- may be why we experience more falls

Question 6

how is touch affected with age?

Answer 6

• lower sensitivity to vibration and thermal sensations

Question 7

TB: why is it important to look at changes in sensation when thinking about “the aging mind”?

Answer 7

underlying correlations between cognition and sensation

ex. if hearing is impaired, may affect memory (less resources to remember)

Question 8

_____ processes are important for _____ functioning

Answer 8

sensory, cognitive

Question 9

common cause hypothesis

Answer 9

the link between sensory processes and cognitive functioning becomes stronger in older adulthood

Question 10

good sensory capabilities are associated with ___ and ___, and related to _____ and _____ abilities

Answer 10

ADL, IADL

memory, verbal

Question 11

threshold

Answer 11

minimum amount of stimulation a sensory organ needs to register the stimulus

Question 12

sensitivity

Answer 12

capability of the system to respond to the stimulus

Question 13

the greater _____ to a particular type of stimulus, the lower the _____ will be

Answer 13

sensitivity, threshold

Question 14

absolute threshold

Answer 14

specific level of intensity that must be reached for the individual to register its presence 50% of the time

Question 15

issue with absolute threshold? which applies to older adults more?

Answer 15

one person may be too cautious or overly confident

older adults tend to be more cautious than young adults

Question 16

this takes into account the decisional processes that enter into an individual’s success or failure to register the presence of a stimulus

Answer 16

signal detection model

Question 17

_____ is related to sensory organ’s initial registration of a stimulus

Answer 17

sensation

Question 18

_____ refers to the subsequent interpretation of a stimuli at a central (brain) level

Answer 18

perception

Question 19

perception can involve two processes

Answer 19

1. bottom-up processing

2. top-down processing

Question 20

bottom-up processing

Answer 20

• direct

- perception that arises directly from sensory input without further cognitive processing

Question 21

top-down processing

Answer 21

• indirect

- perception that involves cognitive processing that goes beyond sensory input

Question 22

limitations of bottom-up processing

Answer 22

• we don’t always get it right
• cannot explain optical illusions
• sensory info is not enough to describe HOW an object would be used
• “nature” approach

Question 23

limitations of top-down processing

Answer 23

• most research is done in lab settings where sensory info may not be as strong

Question 24

older adults with _____ difficulties lose some efficiency in _____ processing

Answer 24

hearing, bottom-up

Question 25

older adults compensate with _____ processing

Answer 25

top-down

Question 26

reaction time/speed of response

Answer 26

the interval that elapses between the onset of a stimulus and the completion of a response

Question 27

3 levels of reaction time/speed of response

Answer 27

1. simple - target is present or not 2. choice - two different responses for two stimuli 3. complex - multiple targets/stimuli

Question 28

reaction time _____ = worse performance | reaction time _____ = better performance

Answer 28

increase, decrease

Question 29

premotor time

Answer 29

the time between stimulus and electromyographic activity | - reflects the neural components of reaction time

Question 30

motor time

Answer 30

the time between the electromyographic activity and the movement - reflects the muscular component of reaction time

Question 31

having a higher reaction time means you have _____ speed of reaction

Answer 31

slower

Question 32

TB: how would you expect changes in perception to impact driving for older adults?

Answer 32

- impaired vision - reaction time is slower - not hearing emergency vehicles

Question 33

how does hearing affect falls?

Answer 33

- limited ability to access auditory cues for environmental awareness - less brain resources to focus on balance - hearing loss related to vestibular system

Question 34

age-complexity hypothesis

Answer 34

older adults will be at a greater disadvantage relative to young adults as task complexity increases

Question 35

3 theoretical models of attention

Answer 35

- the reduced attentional resources/capacity model - the inhibitory deficit model - the frontal lobe model

Question 36

the reduced attentional resources/capacity model | criticism?

Answer 36

the quantity of processing resources decline with increasing age how are resources "measured"?

Question 37

the inhibitory deficit model | criticism?

Answer 37

aging is associated with a decreased ability to ignore irrelevant stimuli an focus on relevant stimuli lack of clear agreement on how to define inhibitory mechanisms

Question 38

the frontal lobe model | criticism?

Answer 38

the frontal lobes are more susceptible than other regions of the brain to the effects of normal aging may not explain all inhibitory difficulties

Question 39

3 types of attention

Answer 39

1. sustained attention (vigilance) 2. divided attention 3. selective attention

Question 40

sustained attention | example?

Answer 40

monitoring a situation and remaining ready to detect any change that occurs in a pattern of stimuli - older and younger affected equally ex. mackworth clock task

Question 41

divided attention

Answer 41

when attention is given to more than one thing at a time/two stimuli processed at the same time - older and younger affected equally in undemanding tasks

Question 42

selective attention | examples?

Answer 42

when we must focus on one thing while ignoring other information (distractors) - ex. visual search tasks & Stroop task

Question 43

Sventina's study (2016) found that _____ stayed stable throughout all ages BUT once distractors were added, _____ adults performed worse

Answer 43

reaction time, older

Question 44

TB: what aspects of this week's learning are related to Sventina's study?

Answer 44

- inhibitory deficit model - selective attention - loss in senses - slower reaction time - cautious level

Question 45

biopsychosocial model of driving in older adulthood | psychological, biological, sociocultural

Answer 45

psychological - acuity - night vision - headline glare biological - mobility - strength - coordination - pain sociocultural - social attitudes - availability of other transportation