Abstract
The present study highlights with the example of location negative priming (LNP) a considerable problem in ageing research, namely the lack of consistent replication of age-related effects on measures of cognitive inhibition. Only a few studies have investigated the effects of ageing on LNP with the overall conclusion that LNP remains largely intact in older adults. In contrast, the two experiments presented here demonstrated a significant abolition of LNP in older relative to younger participants. LNP was a robust effect over early and middle adulthood (19 years - 59 years) but declined from the age of 60 years onwards. Moreover, this effect could not be accounted for by psychometric variables that have been associated with impaired negative priming (dementia, depression, schizotypy, cognitive failure). Thus, the present data provide evidence that LNP can be severely diminished in older adults. It is suggested that discrepancies to previous studies might have arisen due to differences in the educational level of participants in different studies.
Die vorliegende Studie demonstriert am Beispiel des negativen Priming Effektes für Positionen ein weitverbreitetes Problem, nämlich das altersbedingte Effekte in Maßen der kognitiven Hemmung schwierig zu replizieren sind. Im Gegensatz zu Studien, die sich mit “Identity negative priming” beschäftigten, haben bisher nur wenige Studien untersucht, ob sich Negatives Priming für Positionen (Location Negative Priming (LNP)) mit zunehmenden Alter ändert. Auf der Basis dieser wenigen Studien ist geschlussfolgert worden, das LNP altersunabhängig ist. Im Widerspruch dazu wurde in den beiden hier berichteten Experimenten ein bedeutsames Abnehmen des LNP Effektes in älteren im Vergleich zu jüngeren Probanden gefunden. Zwischen 19 und 59 Jahren blieb LNP unverändert, sank aber dann im Alter von 60 Jahren und darüber hinaus auf ein nicht-sigifikantes Niveau ab. Die Abnahme des LNP Effektes konnte nicht durch inter-individuelle Unterschiede in, für negatives Priming bedeutsame, psychometrische Variablen erklärt werden (Demenz, Depression, Schizotypie, kognitive Fehlleistungen). Auf der Basis dieses Ergebnisses kann deshalb geschlossen werden, das LNP, im Gegensatz zu der, in der Literatur allgemein vertretenen Ansicht, mit zunehmenden Alter beeinträchtigt sein kann. Es wird vorgeschlagen, dass widersprüchliche Ergebnisse wahrscheinlich auf inter-individuelle Unterschiede im Bildungsniveau der Probanden und Drop-out Effekte in der Altersforschung zurückgeführt werden können.
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