Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026
Eye Movement Monitoring of Memory
Published on: August 15, 2010
Capture of attention by new motion in young and older adults
Shawn E Christ1, Alan D Castel, Richard A Abrams
1Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 210 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. christse@missouri.edu
Abstract:
Recent research has shown that newly introduced motion in a scene captures attention in young adults. Prior research has been mixed in terms of possible age-related differences in the allocation of visual attention, and it remains unclear whether new motion has a similar influence on visual attention in older adults. In the present study, we directly compared the capture of attention by new motion in young and older adults. The results suggest that new motion has a similar influence on visual attention in older adults as compared with young adults and that the mechanisms underlying attentional capture by motion are preserved with adult aging. We discuss the findings within the context of our present understanding of visual attention and aging.
