Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Age-related decrement in auditory selective attention.

R A Barr1, L M Giambra

  • 1National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland 21224.

Psychology and Aging
|December 1, 1990
PubMed
Summary

Older adults show increased difficulty with selective attention, a key cognitive skill. This age-related decline in auditory attention persists even when controlling for hearing and intelligence factors.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Sustained attention and aging: overcoming the decrement?

Experimental aging research·1997
Same author

A laboratory method for investigating influences on switching attention to task-unrelated imagery and thought.

Consciousness and cognition·1995
Same author

Adult life span changes in immediate visual memory and verbal intelligence.

Psychology and aging·1995
Same author

Changes in immediate visual memory predict cognitive impairment.

Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists·1995
Same author

Adult age differences in forgetting sentences.

Psychology and aging·1993
Same author

The influence of aging on spontaneous shifts of attention from external stimuli to the contents of consciousness.

Experimental gerontology·1993

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Aging Research

Background:

  • Auditory selective attention is crucial for understanding speech in noisy environments.
  • Previous research suggests age-related declines in cognitive functions, including attention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate age-related changes in auditory selective attention.
  • To determine if deficits in older adults are linked to hearing loss or general cognitive ability.

Main Methods:

  • Participants (young, middle-aged, old adults) performed a dichotic shadowing task at 60 words per minute.
  • Error rates were analyzed, controlling for monaural shadowing errors, fluid intelligence, and pure-tone hearing loss.

Main Results:

  • Dichotic shadowing error rate significantly increased with advancing age.
  • Age-related increases in errors persisted even after accounting for hearing and intelligence.
  • Selective attention deficits were evident in older adults independent of target location uncertainty.

Conclusions:

  • Auditory selective attention declines with age.
  • This decline is not fully explained by sensory or general cognitive factors.
  • Older adults experience specific deficits in processing attended auditory information.

Related Experiment Videos