Effects of Age and Practice on Attention and Stages of Information Processing Using CRT with Fixed and Variable Foreperiods

Abstract

The results of previous investigations have found conflicting results on the locus of age-related slowing of reaction time using Additive Factors Method (Sternberg, 1969). This experiment was conducted to examine the differential effects of Additive Factors Method task manipulations using both fixed and variable foreperiod conditions with practice preceding a second day replication to quantify the interaction of these effects with skill. The results show that (1) practice is a major confounding for research involving RT tasks, (2) the locus of age effects may lie in the later response selection stage of processing, and (3) the effects of aging, practice and intra-task factors depend on the response-stimulus interval characterizing the RT task. This research has implications for improving research methodologies and understanding the nature of age-related slowing in central nervous system functions.

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