Providing adequate instructions is important to ensuring users can complete a desired task, especially when the task is novel. Multimedia instructions, which can include text and pictures, or videos rather than only text, allows for the development of more supportive and useful instructions. However, task features and demands should be considered with the capabilities and limitations of the user to create optimal instructions. This paper identifies the tasks and instruction combinations in existing literature most beneficial for older adults, situates the results of these studies in the cognitive aging literature, and presents recommendations for future instruction development.
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