Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T07:27:24.721Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The efficiency of using everyday technological devices by older adults: the role of cognitive functions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2009

KARIN SLEGERS*
Affiliation:
Institute of Brain and Behaviour, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
MARTIN P. J. VAN BOXTEL
Affiliation:
Institute of Brain and Behaviour, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
JELLE JOLLES
Affiliation:
Institute of Brain and Behaviour, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
*
Address for correspondence: Karin Slegers, Institute of Brain and Behaviour, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Older adults experience more problems than younger people when using everyday technological devices such as personal computers, automatic teller machines and microwave ovens. Such problems may have serious consequences for the autonomy of older adults since the ability to use technology is becoming essential in everyday life. One potential cause of these difficulties is age-related decline of cognitive functions. To test the role of cognitive abilities in performing technological tasks, we designed the Technological Transfer Test (TTT). This new and ecologically valid test comprises eight technological tasks that are common in modern life (operating a CD player, a telephone, an ATM, a train-ticket vending machine, a microwave-oven, an alarm clock, a smart card charging device and a telephone voice menu). The TTT and a comprehensive battery of cognitive tests were administered to 236 healthy adults aged 64–75 years on two separate occasions. The results demonstrated that the performance time for five of the eight tasks was predicted by cognitive abilities. The exact cognitive functions affecting technological performance varied by the technological task. Among several measures and components of cognition, the speed of information processing and cognitive flexibility had the greatest predictive power. The results imply that age-related cognitive decline has a profound effect on the interaction between older adults and technological appliances.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brand, N. and Jolles, J. 1985. Learning and retrieval rate of words presented auditorily and visually. Journal of General Psychology, 112, 2, 201–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brand, N. and Jolles, J. 1987. Neuropsych: computer-assisted neuropsychological assessment. In Maarse, F. J., Mulder, L. J. M., Sjouw, W. P. B. and Akkerman, A. E. (eds), Computers in Psychology: Methods, Instrumentation and Psychodiagnostics. Swetz and Zeitlinger, Lisse, The Netherlands, 149–57.Google Scholar
Charness, N., Bosman, E., Kelley, C. and Mottram, M. 1996. Cognitive theory and word processing training: when prediction fails. In Rogers, W. A., Fisk, A. D. and Walker, N. (eds), Ageing and Skilled Performance: Advances in Theory and Applications. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, New Jersey, 221–39.Google Scholar
Craik, F. I. M. and Salthouse, T. A. (eds)2000. The Handbook of Aging and Cognition. Second edition, Erlbaum, Mahwah, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Czaja, S. J. and Sharit, J. 1993. Age differences in the performance of computer-based work. Psychology and Aging, 8, 1, 5967.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Bie, S. E. 1987. Standaardvragen 1987: Voorstellen voor Uniformering van Vraagstellingen naar Achtergrondkenmerken en Interviews [Standard Questions 1987: Proposals for Uniform Questions about Background Characteristics and Interviews]. Leiden University Press, Leiden, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Elias, M. F., Elias, P. K., D'Agostino, R. B. D., Silbershatz, H. and Wolf, P. A. 1997. Role of age, education and gender on cognitive performance in the Framingham heart study: community-based norms. Experimental Aging Research, 23, 3, 201–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freudenthal, D. 2001. The role of age, foreknowledge and complexity in learning to operate a complex device. Behaviour and Information Technology, 20, 1, 2335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallacher, J. E. J., Elwood, P. C., Hopkinson, C., Rabbitt, P. M. A., Stollery, B. T., Sweetnam, P. M., Brayne, C. and Huppert, F. A. 1999. Cognitive function in the Caerphilly study: associations with age, social class, education and mood. European Journal of Epidemiology, 15, 2, 161–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hollwhich, F. 1989. Leerboek Oogheelkunde [Handbook of Ophthalmology]. Bohn, Scheltema and Holkema, Utrecht, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Holt, B. J. and Morrell, R. W. 2002. Guidelines for web site design for older adults: the ultimate influence of cognitive factors. In Morrell, R. W. (ed.), Older Adults, Health Information and the World Wide Web. Erlbaum, Mahwah, New Jersey, 109–29.Google Scholar
Houx, P. J. and Jolles, J. 1993. Age-related decline of psychomotor speed: effects of age, brain health, sex and education. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 76, 195211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jolles, J., Houx, P. J., van Boxtel, M. P. and Ponds, R. W. H. M. (eds)1995. The Maastricht Aging Study: Determinants of Cognitive Aging. Neuropsych Publishers, Maastricht, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Kelley, C. L. and Charness, N. 1995. Issues in training older adults to use computers. Behaviour and Information Technology, 14, 2, 107–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kornblum, S., Hasbroucq, T. and Osman, A. 1990. Dimensional overlap: cognitive basis for stimulus-response compatibility: a model and taxonomy. Psychological Review, 97, 2, 253–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lezak, M. D. 1995. Neuropsychological Assessment. Third edition, Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Mead, S. E. and Fisk, A. D. 1998. Measuring skill acquisition and retention with an ATM simulator: the need for age-specific training. Human Factors, 40, 3, 516–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mead, S. E., Jamieson, B. A., Rousseau, G. K., Sit, R. A. and Rogers, W. A. 1996. Online library catalogs: age-related differences in query construction and error recovery. Proceedings of the 40th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Volume 1, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 146–50.Google Scholar
Reitan, R. M. 1958. Validity of the trail making test as an indication of organic brain damage. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 8, 271–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rogers, W. A. and Fisk, A. D. 2000. Human factors, applied cognition and ageing. In Craik, F. I. M. and Salthouse, T. A. (eds), Handbook of Aging and Cognition. Erlbaum, Mahwah, New Jersey, 559–91.Google Scholar
Rogers, W. A., Gilbert, D. K. and Fraser Cabrera, E. 1997. An analysis of automatic teller machine usage by older adults: a structured interview approach. Applied Ergonomics, 28, 3, 173–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salthouse, T. A. 1996. The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cogniton. Psychological Review, 103, 3, 403–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van der Elst, W., van Boxtel, M. P. J., van Breukelen, G. P. J. and Jolles, J. 2005. Rey's verbal learning test: normative data for 1,855 healthy participants aged 24–81 years and the influence of age, sex, education, and mode of presentation. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 11, 3, 290302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van der Elst, W., van Boxtel, M. P. J., van Breukelen, G. P. J. and Jolles, J. 2006. The Letter Digit Substitution Test: normative data for 1,858 healthy participants aged 24–81 from the Maastricht Ageing Study (MAAS): influence of age, education and sex. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 28, 6, 9981009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Hooren, S. A. H., Valentijn, S. A. M., Bosma, H., Ponds, R. W. H. M., van Boxtel, M. P. J. and Jolles, J. 2005. Cognitive functioning in healthy older adults: a cohort study into the effects of age, sex, and education. Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition. 14, 1, 4054.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vink, M. and Jolles, J. 1985. A new version of the trail-making test as an information processing task. Journal of Clinical Neuropsychology, 7, 162.Google Scholar
Willis, S. L. 1996. Everyday problem solving. In Birren, J. E. and Schaie, K. W. (eds), Handbook of the Psychology of Aging. Academic, San Diego, California, 287307.Google Scholar