Effects of aging in a task-switch paradigm with the diffusion decision model.

ABSTRACT: We investigated aging effects in a task-switch paradigm with degraded stimuli administered to college students, 61-74 year olds, and 75-89 year olds. We studied switch costs (the performance difference between task-repeat and task-switch trials) in terms of accuracy and mean reaction times (RTs). Previous aging research focused on switch costs in terms of mean RTs (with accuracy at ceiling). Our results emphasize the importance of distinguishing between switch costs indexed by accuracy and by RTs because these measures lead to different interpretations. We used the Diffusion Decision Model (DDM; Ratcliff, 1978) to study the cognitive components contributing to switch costs. The DDM decomposed the cognitive process of task switching into multiple components. Two parameters of the model, the

SUBMITTER: Ging-Jehli NR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8034361 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature