| dc.contributor.author | Gayzur, Nora Denise | |
| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of the present study was to examine how older adults utilize contextual information to guide attention in visual scenes. Studies that have examined context and attentional deployment have used the contextual cueing task. Contextual cueing reflects faster responses to repeated spatial configurations (consistent context-target covaration) than random spatial configurations (inconsistent covariation). Research has shown mixed results in older adults' ability to utilize context with this task. Young (18-23 years) and older (60-85 years) adults were tested in two contextual cuing experiments to assess age differences in how individuals utilize context in novel and real-world visual scenes. Experiment 1 investigated the development of contextual cueing effects using low-meaning visual contexts (letter arrays). In low-meaning arrays, young and older adults were able to use context effeciently with no age differences in the development of contextual cueing effects. Experiment 2 examined older adults' ability to utilize context when context was meaningful (real-world images). Younger and older adults saw real-world images in an upright (meaningful) or inverted (less meaningful) orientation. Older adults were able to use context similarly to younger adults, with no age differences in the development of contextual cueing. Contrary to predictions, context utilization was not impacted by the meaningfulness of the image. Contextual cueing effects occurred at the same time for upright and inverted images for young and older adults. Together, these studies demonstrated that older adults were able to utilize context. Meaningfulness did not provide an additional benefit for older adults, but this was true of young adults. | en_US |
| dc.publisher | North Dakota State University | en_US |
| dc.rights | NDSU Policy 190.6.2 | |
| dc.title | Context Processing and Aging Older Adults' Ability to Learn and Utilize Visual Contexts | en_US |
| dc.type | Dissertation | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-01-05T18:36:47Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-01-05T18:36:47Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2013 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10365/27181 | |
| dc.rights.uri | https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf | |
| ndsu.degree | Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) | en_US |
| ndsu.college | Science and Mathematics | en_US |
| ndsu.department | Psychology | en_US |
| ndsu.program | Psychology | en_US |
| ndsu.advisor | Langley, Linda K. | |
