Ageing and switching of the focus of attention in working memory:: Results from a modified N-Back task

被引:161
作者
Verhaeghen, P [1 ]
Basak, C [1 ]
机构
[1] Syracuse Univ, Dept Psychol, Syracuse, NY 13244 USA
来源
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY SECTION A-HUMAN EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY | 2005年 / 58卷 / 01期
关键词
D O I
10.1080/02724980443000241
中图分类号
B84 [心理学];
学科分类号
04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
We conducted two experiments using a modified version of the N-Back task. For younger adults, there was an abrupt increase in reaction time of about 250 ms in passing from N = 1 to N > 1, indicating a cost associated with switching of the focus of attention within working memory. Response time costs remained constant over the range N = 2 to N = 5. Accuracy declined steadily over the full range of N (Experiment 1). Focus switch costs did not interact with either working memory updating (Experiment 1), or global task switching (Experiment 2). There were no age differences in RT costs once general slowing was taken into account, but there was a larger focus-switch-related accuracy cost in older adults than in younger adults. No age sensitivity was found for either updating or global task switching. The results suggest (a) that focus switching is a cognitive primitive, distinct from task switching and updating, and (b) that focus switching shows a specific age-related deficit in the accuracy domain.
引用
收藏
页码:134 / 154
页数:21
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