Older Individuals and Distractions (04-01-10)

A recent study of people from 60 to 80 years old found that people in this age range have difficulty ignoring distractions while they’re forming memories.  Even knowing in advance of an upcoming distraction does not alleviate the problem.  This finding has repercussions for the design of spaces where older individuals might need to learn new information, such as treatment rooms in doctor’s offices.  Low levels of audio and visual distractions are best in these environments.

Theodore Zanto, Kelly Hennigan, Mattias Ostberg, Wesley Clapp, and Adam Gazzaley.  2010  “Predictive Knowledge of Stimulus Relevance Does Not Influence Top-Down Suppression of Irrelevant Information in Older Adults.”  Cortex, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 564-574.