Search and the Aging Mind: The Promise and Limits of the Cognitive Control Hypothesis of Age Differences in Search
Year: 2015
Type: review
Abstract: Search is a prerequisite for successful performance in a broad range of tasks ranging from making decisions between consumer goods to memory retrieval. How does aging impact search processes in such disparate situations? Aging is associated with structural and neuromodulatory brain changes that underlie cognitive control processes, which in turn have been proposed as a domain-general mechanism controlling search in external environments as well as memory. We review the aging literature to evaluate the cognitive control hypothesis that suggests that age-related change in cognitive control underlies age differences in both external and internal search. We also consider the limits of the cognitive control hypothesis and propose additional mechanisms such as changes in strategy use and affect that may be necessary to understand how aging affects search.
Source: Topics in Cognitive Science
DOI: 10.1111/tops.12139
Authors: Rui Mata, Bettina von Helversen
Institution: University of Basel
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2080123310