Abstract
Young and older adults indentified the shape of a color oddball in a visual search task, and both showed faster and more accurate responses when the distractor color was passively viewed in the preceding target-absent trial than when the target color was previewed. This inter-trial effect, known as the distractor previewing effect (DPE), reflects an attentional bias that prevents attention from focusing on recently inspected features that failed to produce a target. The results showed that the DPE pattern was preserved across the lifespan, and that the age-related increase in the magnitude of the DPE appeared rooted in age-related slowing, suggesting substantial sparing of this inhibitory effect in old age.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 562-576 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2011 |
Keywords
- Aging
- Attention
- Distractor previewing effect (DPE)
- Inhibition
- Visual search
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Geriatrics and Gerontology
- Psychiatry and Mental health