ABSTRACT

Older adults commonly experience difficulties efficiently searching the Internet, which can adversely affect daily functioning. This study specifically examined the neuropsychological aspects of online transit planning in 50 younger (M = 22 years) and 40 older (M = 64 years) community-dwelling adults. All participants completed a neuropsychological battery, questionnaires, and measures of Internet use and skills. Participants used a live transit planning website to complete three inter-related tasks (e.g., map a route from an airport to a specific hotel at a particular time). On a fourth Internet transit task, participants were randomized into either a support condition in which they received brief goal management training or into a control condition. Results showed that older adults were both slower and less accurate than their younger counterparts in completing the first three Internet transit tasks. Within the older adults, Internet transit accuracy showed a medium association with verbal memory, executive functions, and auditory attention, but not visuomotor speed, which was the only domain associated with Internet transit task speed in both groups. The goal management training was beneficial for plan development in younger, but not older adults. The planning supports did not impact actual Internet transit task performance in either group. Findings indicate that older adults experience difficulties quickly and accurately using a transit website to plan transportation routes, which is associated with poorer higher-order neurocognitive functions (e.g., memory). Future work might examine the benefits of established memory strategies (e.g., spaced retrieval practice) for online transit planning.

摘要

老年人通常在有效搜索互联网时遇到困难，这可能会对日常功能产生不利影响。本研究专门研究了 50 名年轻（​​M = 22 岁）和 40 名老年（M = 64 岁）社区居民的在线交通规划的神经心理学方面。所有参与者都完成了神经心理学测试、问卷调查以及互联网使用和技能的测量。参与者使用实时交通规划网站来完成三项相互关联的任务（例如，在特定时间绘制从机场到特定酒店的路线）。在第四个互联网传输任务中，参与者被随机分配到他们接受简短目标管理培训的支持状态或控制状态。结果表明，在完成前三项互联网传输任务时，老年人比年轻人更慢且准确度更低。在老年人中，互联网传输准确性与语言记忆、执行功能和听觉注意力呈中等关联，但与视觉运动速度无关，这是两组中唯一与互联网传输任务速度相关的领域。目标管理培训有利于年轻人的计划制定，但对老年人没有帮助。规划支持不会影响任何一组的实际 Internet 传输任务性能。调查结果表明，老年人在使用公交网站规划交通路线时遇到困难，这与较差的高阶神经认知功能（例如记忆）有关。