Aging affects the balance between goal-guided and habitual spatial attention

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Human Factors Engineering

Background:

• Visual clutter presents challenges for older adults, necessitating selective information processing.
• Previous studies identified visual search habits and task goals as influences on spatial attention in older adults.
• The comparative impact of competing goal-driven and habitual attention sources in aging remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how aging influences the balance between goal-driven and habitual attention.
• To elucidate the distinct attentional subsystems and their age-related changes.
• To inform design principles for environments catering to older individuals.

Main Methods:

• Young and older adults performed an adapted visual search task on a desk-mounted display.
• Habitual attention was induced by a spatially biased target distribution (high-probability quadrant).
• Goal-driven attention was manipulated by instructing participants to search a specific location while altering their physical position.

Main Results:

• Both age groups developed habitual attention towards the high-probability quadrant.
• Young and older adults prioritized instructed search locations, but this goal-driven effect was stronger in younger individuals.
• Viewer-centered habitual attention was preserved across age groups, showing similar preferences for previously rewarded visual fields.

Conclusions:

• Aging selectively disrupts goal-guided attention, while habitual attention remains relatively intact.
• Viewer-centered habitual attention demonstrates a strong, age-invariant bias.
• Design for all ages, particularly older adults, must acknowledge and accommodate the persistent nature of habitual attention.