In this study, we tested young and older adults on a spatially separated Stroop priming task in which a neutral word in colored ink (target) randomly appeared on either side of a color word in black ink (prime). Cues that preceded the target-prime word pair either indicated the correct target location (valid), the incorrect location (invalid), or provided no information about the target location (ambiguous). Analyses of proportional response latencies and ex-Gaussian parameters of response latency distributions showed that valid advance cues reduced interference and invalid cues increased interference for both young and older adults. Ambiguous cues were also associated with high levels of interference, but interference was higher for older adults than for younger adults. These findings are consistent with a large body of research showing age-related deficits in the use of the attentional network associated with executive control. However, they also demonstrate that older adults can use the attentional network associated with spatial orienting to reduce response conflict. For instance, we observed facilitation for congruent trials after the presentation of an invalid cue, but very little facilitation for congruent trials after the presentation of an ambiguous cue. As the attentional demands in our world increase, we might use this knowledge to promote optimal functioning in older adults. Our findings challenge the notion of ubiquitous age-related declines in attention and contribute to the discussion of how attentional networks work together as demands for conflict resolution vary. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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年龄和不确定性对 Stroop 启动任务的影响。

在这项研究中，我们在空间分离的 Stroop 启动任务中测试了年轻人和老年人，其中彩色墨水（目标）中的中性词随机出现在黑色墨水（素数）彩色单词的两侧。位于目标主词对之前的提示要么指示正确的目标位置（有效）、不正确的位置（无效），要么不提供有关目标位置的信息（模棱两可）。对比例响应延迟和响应延迟分布的前高斯参数的分析表明，有效的提前提示减少了干扰，无效提示增加了年轻人和老年人的干扰。模棱两可的线索也与高水平的干扰有关，但老年人的干扰高于年轻人。这些发现与大量研究结果一致，这些研究表明与执行控制相关的注意力网络的使用存在与年龄相关的缺陷。然而，他们也证明老年人可以使用与空间定向相关的注意力网络来减少反应冲突。例如，我们观察到在出现无效线索后对一致试验的促进作用，但在出现模糊线索后对一致试验的促进作用很小。随着我们世界中注意力需求的增加，我们可能会利用这些知识来促进老年人的最佳功能。我们的发现挑战了普遍存在的与年龄相关的注意力下降的概念，并有助于讨论注意力网络如何在解决冲突的需求不同时协同工作。