Age differences in dual-task performance after practice
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026
Revised and Neuroimaging-Compatible Versions of the Dual Task Screen
Published on: October 5, 2020
Katrin Göthe1, Klaus Oberauer, Reinhold Kliegl
1Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, 14415 Potsdam, Germany. kgoethe@rz.uni-potsdam.de
Abstract:
This study investigated whether older adults could acquire the ability to perform 2 cognitive operations in parallel in a paradigm in which young adults had been shown to be able to do so (K. Oberauer & R. Kliegl, 2004). Twelve young and 12 older adults practiced a numerical and a visuospatial continuous memory updating task in single-task and dual-task conditions for 16 to 24 sessions. After practice, 9 young adults were able to process the 2 tasks without dual-task costs, but none of the older adults had reached the criterion of parallel processing. The results suggest a qualitative difference between young and older adults in how they approach dual-task situations.
