Citation

Hartley AA, Little DM. J. Exp. Psychol. Gen. 1999; 128(4): 416-449.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Scripps College, Columbia, Claremont, California 91711, USA. alan_hartley@scrippscol.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, American Psychological Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10650582

Abstract

Differences between younger adults (mean age, 20.7 years) and older adults (mean age, 72.7 years) in dual-task performance were examined in 7 experiments in which the overlap between 2 simple tasks was systematically varied. The results were better fit by a task-switching model in which age was assumed to produce generalized slowing than by a shared-capacity model in which age was assumed to reduce processing resources. The functional architecture of task processing appears the same in younger and older adults. There was no evidence for a specific impairment in the ability of older adults to manage simultaneous tasks. There was evidence for both input and output interference, which may be greater in older adults.

Language: en