Ch. 6 Basic Cognitive Functions: Information Processing, Attention, and Memory Flashcards
reaction time
how many seconds lapse between stimuli onset and reaction to it
attention
in a crowded room, what are the processes needed to focus on one aspect
brinley plot
performance of older adults is plotted against performance by younger adults, revealing that as the task becomes more difficult (requires more time), older adults are disproportionately slower
age-related effects
- driving
- aware of individual differences
- walking around young children
- giving verbal instructions → acknowledging what is said
online customer service
approaches to understanding
- general slowing hypothesis
- inhibitory deficit model
general slowing hypothesis
loss of attentional resources → longer time to respond
inhibitory deficit model
inability to tune out irrelevant information
ex. grocery shopping → remembering where items are with other factors like conversations
stroop task
- group of stimulus words that correspond with color that are presented in the same color font or different color
- difference: magnitude with age in reaction time
- very common task testing reaction time
videogames and attention
- demand quick decisions, response speed, hand-eye coordination, tracking multiple inputs
- young adults show advantages, but self-reflection plays a role
research with older adults faces many difficulties with videogames
- best games are not enjoyable
- programs change
- software malfunctions
- hardware malfunctions
older adults prefer:
- sudoku
- solitaire
- hearts
driving and aging
stereotypical beliefs about being stuck behind elderly drivers
- slow driving
- petite individual who cannot see over wheel
- two-handed steering
the useful field of view
- decreases with age
- implications for number of collisions
confusion on the road
- difficult signs
- require time to perceive and interpret
- there are some older individuals who do not experience this
drivers with BACs of 0.8 or higher
- only the survivors grow older
- may have not drank when younger
- cannot look at fatal accidents due to them being dead → not just age
national highway traffic safety
- item word listing = problems with validity
- able to assess and are accurate in assessment
- identity affects efficacy
- problematic measure
- sex, gender, cultural, geographic differences
steps older adults can take to improve their driving
- exercise to increase strength and flexibility
- avoid drug-drug interactions
- vision tests
- drive during daylight and good weather
- find safest routes (well-lit streets, arrows at lights, easy parking)
- plan route before driving
- leave enough room in front
- avoid distractions (including food)
- consider alternatives to driving
biopsychosocial model of driving
- bio: mobility, strength, coordination, pain
- psycho: acuity, night vision, headline glare, anxiety, confusion
- social: attitudes, availability of transportation
rotaries or roundabouts can help reduce accidents
- no stop signs
- help organize approach
- low travel speed
- no light to beat
- one-way travel
working memory
- organizing, coordinating, keeping track of
- supported through frontal lobes functions and sensory functions
- theological
central executive
- main piece
- focus attention, organizing so we can use; oversees everything
phonological loop
- branches of central executive
processes spoken language; - acoustic store
- articulatory loop
acoustic store
how something sounds
articulatory loop
how something is articulated
episodic buffer
- branches of central executive
- short-term to long-term memory
visuo-spatial scratchpad
- branches of central executive
- mental image of where things are
default network
- when processing the scene or monitoring the environment
- no particular task: red and yellow
- specific task: blue and green areas of brain
working memory task
- over time, letters are displayed
- ask if letters are seen before and ask how many before
- audio-visual memory
- declines significantly with age; primary aging
long-term memory
- episodic memory
- remote memory
- semantic memory
- procedural memory
-implicit memory
episodic memory
- impairments in encoding and retrieval
- depends on integrity of connections in frontal cortex, temporal and parietal lobes, areas of subcortex (thalamus- sensory relay station)
- age-related changes to white matter (myelinated axons- speed up processing)
normal aging of episodic memory
- these structural changes may be compensated by heightened activity in the PFC
- keep area active
- scaffolding theory
scaffolding memory
- adults can recruit alternate neural circuits
ex. surgery → open, laparoscopic - life course factors
education, stress, exposure to toxins
remote memory
- increasingly difficult to access
- exception of autobiographical memory → reminiscence bump
ex. sixth birthday; specific
semantic memory
facts; no decline in normal aging
procedural memory
how to start a car
implicit memory
cultural experiences
normal age-related decline in memory changes
- episodic memory
- source memory
- false memory
- retrieval failure
- prospective memory
memory abilities that stay the same
- semantic memory
- flashbulb memory → super clear from long ago and intensive of particular moment
- implicit memory
- procedural memory
psychosocial influences on memory
stress and depression
- less likely to pay attention
memory self-efficacy
- the more they believe it and less that can be remembered
stereotype threat
- talking very loudly at older adults
- part of central executive job
health-related influences on memory
- do not smoke
- balanced diet
- aerobic exercise
- strength training
