Age-Related Efffects on Warning Symbol Comprehension

Abstract

Prior research indicates that older individuals have greater difficulty in understanding warning symbols. However, research is inconclusive regarding age-related differences in understanding warning symbols and few studies have compared specific symbols. The current study examined 31 warning symbols for comprehension by younger (18-35) and older (50-65) individuals before and after training. Significant age-related differences were observed for 15 of the 31 symbols – in every instance, the older group demonstrated poorer comprehension than the younger group. Training improved comprehension by both younger and older groups, but did not eliminate the effect of age. While rated familiarity was significantly correlated with comprehension performance, familiarity with the symbols did not explain the age effect. Rather, it is suggested that older adults' performance hinges to a greater extent on the effectiveness of symbols as cues to knowledge.

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References

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