Age differences in sustained attention tasks: A meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Psychology

Background:

• Attention significantly declines with aging, yet its impact on sustained attention remains debated.
• Previous research presents conflicting findings regarding age-related changes in sustained attention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To meta-analytically compare sustained attention performance between younger and older adults using the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART).
• To investigate the underlying mechanisms of age-related differences in sustained attention, differentiating between processing speed deficits and strategic adjustments.

Main Methods:

• A meta-analysis was conducted on 12 studies involving 832 younger and 690 older adults.
• Included studies utilized the go/no-go SART with a low proportion of no-go trials (5%-30%) and random stimulus presentation.
• Performance metrics included reaction times on go trials and accuracy on no-go trials, as well as post-error slowing.

Main Results:

• Older adults exhibited slower reaction times on go trials (g = 1) compared to younger adults.
• Older adults demonstrated superior accuracy on no-go trials (g = .59), committing fewer errors.
• Older adults showed significantly greater post-error slowing (g = .79) after errors on no-go trials.

Conclusions:

• Findings support an age-related decline in processing speed, evidenced by slower reaction times.
• Results indicate older adults adopt a more prudent attentional strategy, prioritizing accuracy and reducing errors.
• The data do not support an inhibitory deficit model of aging, as older adults were more accurate in inhibiting responses.