[Retention of relevant and irrelevant information in advanced age]

Abstract

In the literature on cognitive aging, differences between the cognitive abilities of young and older-adults have long been seen as supporting the view of an age-dependent cognitive deficit. However, findings are equivocal. In the context of more recent findings implying an age-dependent change in the efficiency of attentional and inhibition processes, the present study compares two groups of young and older adults concerning their ability to solve an everyday-like task. In order to effectively solve the task, subjects had to focus on goal-relevant information and, at the same time, inhibit irrelevant information. Subjects selected the relevant items from a shopping list and subsequently participated in a word detection experiment. The results demonstrate older adults taking more time overall to solve the task. However, they were differentiating and maintaining both relevant and irrelevant information in a way comparable to the younger adults. This finding indicates a deficit in older adults concerning the speed component of information processing. However, older adults do not seem to be impaired in their ability to focus on relevant information.