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Related Experiment Videos

Age, variability, and speed: between-subjects diversity.

S Hale1, J Myerson, G A Smith

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 53201.

Psychology and Aging
|December 1, 1988
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Older adults

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human aging research

Background:

  • Reaction time (RT) and between-subject variability (SD) are key cognitive performance metrics.
  • Age-related differences in cognitive performance, particularly increased variability in older adults, are well-documented.
  • The relationship between reaction time, variability, and aging requires further clarification.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the interrelations among reaction time (RT), between-subject variability (SD), and age.
  • To determine if age or reaction time is the primary driver of increased performance variability in older adults.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of two independent datasets examining RT, SD, and age.
  • Utilized partial correlation analyses to control for age and RT effects.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Compared the RT-SD relationship across young and elderly participant groups.

    • Main Results:

    • A strong, consistent correlation between RT and SD was observed in both datasets.
    • This RT-SD correlation remained significant even when controlling for age.
    • The correlation between age and SD was weaker and disappeared when RT was controlled.
    • The relationship between RT and SD was consistent across age groups.

    Conclusions:

    • Increased performance variability in older adults is a direct consequence of slower reaction times.
    • Slowing of reaction time, not age itself, explains the greater diversity in older adult performance.
    • These findings challenge the notion of age as an independent factor driving performance variability.