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Order, please! Explicit sequence learning in hybrid search in younger and older age
Sequence learning effects in simple perceptual and motor tasks are largely unaffected by normal aging. However, less is known about sequence learning in more complex cognitive tasks that involve attention and memory processes and how this changes with age. In this study, we examined whether incident...
Autores principales: | , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Springer US
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8313466/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33876402 http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13421-021-01157-2 |
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author | Wiegand, Iris Westenberg, Erica Wolfe, Jeremy M. |
author_facet | Wiegand, Iris Westenberg, Erica Wolfe, Jeremy M. |
author_sort | Wiegand, Iris |
collection | PubMed |
description | Sequence learning effects in simple perceptual and motor tasks are largely unaffected by normal aging. However, less is known about sequence learning in more complex cognitive tasks that involve attention and memory processes and how this changes with age. In this study, we examined whether incidental and intentional sequence learning would facilitate hybrid visual and memory search in younger and older adults. Observers performed a hybrid search task, in which they memorized four or 16 target objects and searched for any of those target objects in displays with four or 16 objects. The memorized targets appeared either in a repeating sequential order or in random order. In the first experiment, observers were not told about the sequence before the experiment. Only a subset of younger adults and none of the older adults incidentally learned the sequence. The “learners” acquired explicit knowledge about the sequence and searched faster in the sequence compared to random condition. In the second experiment, observers were told about the sequence before the search task. Both younger and older adults searched faster in sequence blocks than random blocks. Older adults, however, showed this sequence-learning effect only in blocks with smaller target sets. Our findings indicate that explicit sequence knowledge can facilitate hybrid search, as it allows observers to predict the next target and restrict their visual and memory search. In older age, the sequence-learning effect is constrained by load, presumably due to age-related decline in executive functions. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.3758/s13421-021-01157-2. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8313466 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | Springer US |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-83134662021-08-16 Order, please! Explicit sequence learning in hybrid search in younger and older age Wiegand, Iris Westenberg, Erica Wolfe, Jeremy M. Mem Cognit Article Sequence learning effects in simple perceptual and motor tasks are largely unaffected by normal aging. However, less is known about sequence learning in more complex cognitive tasks that involve attention and memory processes and how this changes with age. In this study, we examined whether incidental and intentional sequence learning would facilitate hybrid visual and memory search in younger and older adults. Observers performed a hybrid search task, in which they memorized four or 16 target objects and searched for any of those target objects in displays with four or 16 objects. The memorized targets appeared either in a repeating sequential order or in random order. In the first experiment, observers were not told about the sequence before the experiment. Only a subset of younger adults and none of the older adults incidentally learned the sequence. The “learners” acquired explicit knowledge about the sequence and searched faster in the sequence compared to random condition. In the second experiment, observers were told about the sequence before the search task. Both younger and older adults searched faster in sequence blocks than random blocks. Older adults, however, showed this sequence-learning effect only in blocks with smaller target sets. Our findings indicate that explicit sequence knowledge can facilitate hybrid search, as it allows observers to predict the next target and restrict their visual and memory search. In older age, the sequence-learning effect is constrained by load, presumably due to age-related decline in executive functions. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.3758/s13421-021-01157-2. Springer US 2021-04-19 2021 /pmc/articles/PMC8313466/ /pubmed/33876402 http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13421-021-01157-2 Text en © The Author(s) 2021 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) . |
spellingShingle | Article Wiegand, Iris Westenberg, Erica Wolfe, Jeremy M. Order, please! Explicit sequence learning in hybrid search in younger and older age |
title | Order, please! Explicit sequence learning in hybrid search in younger and older age |
title_full | Order, please! Explicit sequence learning in hybrid search in younger and older age |
title_fullStr | Order, please! Explicit sequence learning in hybrid search in younger and older age |
title_full_unstemmed | Order, please! Explicit sequence learning in hybrid search in younger and older age |
title_short | Order, please! Explicit sequence learning in hybrid search in younger and older age |
title_sort | order, please! explicit sequence learning in hybrid search in younger and older age |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8313466/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33876402 http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13421-021-01157-2 |
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