Ageing and switching of the focus of attention in working memory: results from a modified N-Back task

We conducted two experiments using a modified version of the N-Back task. For younger adults, there was an abrupt increase in reaction time of about 250 ms in passing from N = 1 to N > 1, indicating a cost associated with switching of the focus of attention within working memory. Response time co...

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Published inThe Quarterly journal of experimental psychology. A, Human experimental psychology Vol. 58; no. 1; pp. 134 - 154
Main Authors Verhaeghen, Paul, Basak †, Chandramallika
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hants Psychology Press 01.01.2005
Taylor & Francis
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Adult. Elderly
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging - physiology
Attention
Biological and medical sciences
Developmental psychology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Male
Memory Disorders - diagnosis
Memory, Short-Term
Middle Aged
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reaction Time
Human
Senescence
Young adult
Attention
Task switching
Cognition
Working memory
Experimental study
Elderly
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Summary:We conducted two experiments using a modified version of the N-Back task. For younger adults, there was an abrupt increase in reaction time of about 250 ms in passing from N = 1 to N > 1, indicating a cost associated with switching of the focus of attention within working memory. Response time costs remained constant over the range N = 2 to N = 5. Accuracy declined steadily over the full range of N (Experiment 1). Focus switch costs did not interact with either working memory updating (Experiment 1), or global task switching (Experiment 2). There were no age differences in RT costs once general slowing was taken into account, but there was a larger focus-switch-related accuracy cost in older adults than in younger adults. No age sensitivity was found for either updating or global task switching. The results suggest (a) that focus switching is a cognitive primitive, distinct from task switching and updating, and (b) that focus switching shows a specific age-related deficit in the accuracy domain. Department of Psychology, 430 Huntington Hall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244-2340, USA. Email: cbasak@mailbox.syr.edu
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0272-4987
1464-0740
DOI:10.1080/02724980443000241