Habitual attention in older and young adults.

Abstract

Age-related decline is pervasive in tasks that require explicit learning and memory, but such reduced function is not universally observed in tasks involving incidental learning. It is unknown if habitual attention, involving incidental probabilistic learning, is preserved in older adults. Previous research on habitual attention investigated contextual cuing in young and older adults, yet contextual cuing relies not only on spatial attention but also on context processing. Here we isolated habitual attention from context processing in young and older adults. Using a challenging visual search task in which the probability of finding targets was greater in 1 of 4 visual quadrants in all contexts, we examined the acquisition, persistence, and spatial-reference frame of habitual attention. Although older adults showed slower visual search times and steeper search slopes (more time per additional item in the search display), like young adults they rapidly acquired a strong, persistent search habit toward the high-probability quadrant. In addition, habitual attention was strongly viewer-centered in both young and older adults. The demonstration of preserved viewer-centered habitual attention in older adults suggests that it may be used to counter declines in controlled attention. This, in turn, suggests the importance, for older adults, of maintaining habit-related spatial arrangements. (PsycINFO Database Record

Aging affects the balance between goal-guided and habitual spatial attention

“…In contrast to the results from Jiang et al (2016) suggesting that aging may tip the balance of attention from goal-driven to habitual attention, neuroimaging studies have shown agerelated decline in the function of a brain region important for habit formation-namely the basal ganglia (for review, see Howard & Howard, 2013). Tasks that depend on basal ganglia function, such as learning a probabilistic sequence, are performed more poorly by older than young adults (Howard, Howard, Dennis, Yankovich, & Vaidya, 2004).…”

“…Two lines of previous research suggest that, relative to young adults, older adults are more likely to rely on search habits than task instructions. First, as shown in Jiang et al (2016), location probability learning is preserved in older adults, even though their search is less efficient relative to young adults. Second, research on age differences in the use of spatial reference frames suggests that aging has a more detrimental effect on environment-centered coding than viewer-centered coding.…”

“…This finding suggests that habit-driven attention may be preserved in older adults. However, Jiang et al (2016) did not directly manipulate goal-driven spatial attention; thus their results do not address how habitual and goal-driven attention combine to influence older adults' performance.…”

“…One recent study suggests that, in older adults, the balance may be tipped toward habit-based rather than goal-guided search (Jiang, Koutstaal, & Twedell, 2016). Young and older adults searched for a T target among L distractors.…”

Mechanisms of contextual cueing: A tutorial review

“…First, secondary working-memory load impairs goal-driven attention but does not interfere with location probability learning (Won & Jiang, 2015). Second, whereas goal-driven attention is less efficient in older adults than in young adults, location probability learning is insensitive to aging (Jiang, Koutstaal, & Twedell, 2016). Third, whereas an endogenous spatial cue induces a baseline shift of attention, location probability learning does not (Addleman, Schmidt, Remington, & Jiang, 2019).…”