Abstract
It has been hypothesized that a salient feature of the aging process is a decline in the ability to inhibit intrusive irrelevant information. Examination of distractor interference and negative priming effects in a group of older adults confirmed this hypothesis: Distracting information interfered with performance more in older subjects, and this population produced less evidence for inhibitory mechanisms when compared with younger adults. It is suggested that inhibition may be a general mechanism that is particularly vulnerable in a variety of clinical populations, and it may provide a marker for early detection of syndromes characterized by breakdown in cognitive processes.
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This research was supported by an NSERC (CANADA) grant. The assistance of Susan Anderson and Jamie Brehaut is gratefully acknowledged.
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Tipper, S.P. Less attentional selectivity as a result of declining inhibition in older adults. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 29, 45–47 (1991). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334765
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334765