An age-comparison study using resource-allocation models of visual selective attention

To date, no distinction has been made between young and old in attentional resource models. The study reports results of two experiments designed to explore age differences in the pattern of attention. Experiments tested the effect of a spatial cue on the allocation of attention in the visual field using a cross-sectional age-comparison paradigm. Response Time (RT) cost and benefit patterns were analysed as to which of three current quantitative models of attention best explained results for each group. Theoretical implications for cognitive research are discussed. In addition, age considerations for visual and cognitive interactions in complex experimental visual arrays are addressed. Results of the experiments indicate that the ring model, a flexible resource model, best exemplifies attentional distribution for both the older and younger subjects when target visibility is enhanced for the older individuals. Within the model, however, attentional strategies differ between the groups