Centre for Policy on Ageing



Examining age differences in performance of a complex information search and retrieval task
Author(s)	Sara J Czaja, Joseph Sharit, Raymond Ownby
Journal title	Psychology and Aging, vol 16, no 4, December 2001
Pages	pp 564-579
Keywords	Cognitive processes ; Performance ; Adults ; Middle aged ; Age groups [elderly] ; Comparison ; United States of America.
Annotation	Recent developments in computer technology have made it possible for people to access vast amounts of information. This study used a simulated real-world task, typical of those performed by customer service personnel. The study also investigated the influence of task experience and relationships between cognitive abilities and task performance. 117 participants from three age groups, younger (20-39), middle-aged(40-59) and older (60-75) performed the task for three days. Significant age differences were found for all measures of task performance, with the exception of navigational efficiency and number of problems correctly navigated per attempt. There were also effects of task experience. The findings also indicated significant direct and indirect relations between component cognitive abilities and task performance. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-020206202 A
Classmark	DA: 5H: SD: SE: BB: 48: 7T
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