Age and skilled performance: contributions of working memory and processing speed

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1-2002

Abstract

In this study, we examined the interrelationships among age, working memory (WM), processing speed, and the development of skilled performance. Younger (M=20.5) and older (M=68.9) adults were trained on an alphabet arithmetic task (Haider & Frensch, 1996) administered across three consecutive days. Although older adults were slower than younger adults, both age groups' response latencies decreased as a result of practice. Contrary to expectations, WM and processing speed were significantly correlated with performance late in training. Partial correlations suggested that age differences in performance at the end of training were mediated by individual differences in cognitive processing speed.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Brain and cognition

First Page

242

Last Page

56

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS