[Effects of age on orientation of attention]

The present experiment investigated the influence of age on the magnitude of attentional effects. Subjects were cued to attend to one of two possible stimulus locations horizontally arranged. The instructions were to respond as fast as possible to the occurrence of a visual stimulus, regardless of whether it occurred in a cued or in a non-cued location. When the stimulus occurred in a non-cued location, the subject had to reorient attention to the non-attended, but stimulated, location. Reorienting of attention was directed toward either the left or the right side. The results showed that for the elders, time for reorienting was longer than for younger subjects.