Work

Age-related preservation of statistical learning in distractor suppression.

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: = 24 vs. 65 years old, respectively) performed an additional singleton task, searching for a shape singleton while a color singleton distractor was present. Crucially, the color distractor appeared more frequently in one specific location than in others. In line with previous research, participants exhibited (a) more effective suppression of distractors appearing at high-probability locations; (b) a clear spatial gradient of suppression, with search efficiency decreasing as the distance from the distractor increased; and (c) hampered target selection when the target appeared at the location that usually contained a distractor. While both young and older adults showed learned suppression primarily in the first block, with the effect persisting throughout the experiment, older adults showed a smaller magnitude of suppression compared to young adults. We conclude that while the ability to learn statistical regularities largely remains intact with age, the behavioral consequences of this learning are reduced with old age. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Source: Psychology and Aging

DOI: 10.1037/pag0000922

Authors: Jiayi Yao, Joshua Snell, Jan Theeuwes

Institution: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Visual perception and processing mechanisms

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: China Scholarship Council

Award: G4582437101