Reported are preliminary findings from analyses of cross-sectional and longitudinal reaction time data collected on 865 male and 453 female volunteers who ranged in age from 20 to 96 years. Evident in both simple and disjunctive reaction time measures was a consistent slowing with age. In nearly all cases, males were faster than females but gender differences were negligible for the simple reaction time (SRT) compared to disjunctive reaction time (DRT). Repeated testing within subjects over 2–8 years also showed age-related slowing across decades. Cross-sectional studies have been criticized for overestimating the actual age-related slowing found in longitudinal analysis. However, this was not the case in the present research. Similar effects were observed in analyses of data from all subjects on their first visit (n = 1318 subjects) compared to data from all subjects over all of their visits (n = 3855 subject visits) compared to data from only those subjects across decades who were tested repeatedly over at least 8 years (n = 314 subjects X 5 visits = 1570 subject visits). Findings from this research have human factors implications for task design, personnel selection, performance prediction, accident analysis, human tests and measurements, and demographic norms, to mention a few.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndresR. (1978). The normality of aging: The Baltimore Longitudinal Study. Part of the National Institute on Aging Science Writer Seminar Series. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
2.
BirrenJ. E.VercruyssenM.FisherL. M. (1990). Aging and speed of behavior: Its scientific and practical significance. The 1990 Sandoz lectures in gerontology.New York: Academic Press, in press.
3.
BirrenJ. E.WoodsA. M.WilliamsM. V. (1980). Behavioral slowing with age: Causes, organization, and consequences. In PoonL. W. (Ed.), Aging in the 1980s: Selected contemporary issues in the psychology of aging (293–308). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
4.
BleeckerM. L.Bolla-WilsonK.AgnewJ.MeyersD. A. (1987). Simple visual reaction time: Sex and age differences. Developmental Neuropsychology, 3(2), 165–172.
5.
BMDP Statistical Software, Inc. (1988). BMDP [statistical] programs and BMDP Statistical Software Manual.Statistical software, BMDP Statistical Software, Inc., Los Angeles, CA.
6.
BotwinickJ.StorandtM. (1974). Cardiovascular status, depressive affect, and other factors in reaction time. Journal of Gerontology, 29, 543–548.
7.
BusseE. W.MaddoxG. L. (Eds.). (1985). The Duke Longitudinal Studies of normal aging, 1955–1980. New York: Springer.
8.
DamonA. (1965). Discrepancies between findings of longitudinal and cross-sectional studies in adult life: Physique and physiology. Human Development, 8, 16–22.
9.
EraP.JokelaJ.HoikkinenE. (1986). Reaction and movement times in men of different ages: A population study. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 63, 111–130.
10.
FinchC. E.SchneiderE. L. (Eds.). (1985). Handbook of the biology of aging.New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
11.
FozardJ. L. (1981). Speed of mental performance and aging: Costs of age and benefits of wisdom. In PirozzoloF. J.MalettaG. J. (Eds.), Behavioral assessment and psychophcumacology, (pp. 59–94). New York: Praeger Scientific.
12.
FozardJ. L.FiskA. D. (1988). Human factors and the aging population. Human Factors Bulletin, 31(11), 1–2.
13.
FozardJ. L.ThomasJ. C.Jr.WaughN. C. (1976). Effects of age and frequency of stimulus repetitions on two-choice reaction time. Journal of Gerontology, 31, 556–563.
14.
GoldfarbW. (1941). An investigation of reaction time in older adults. Teachers College Contribution to Education, 831. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, Bureau of Publication.
15.
HarkinsS. W.NowlinJ. B.RammD.SchroederS. (1974). In PalmoreE. (Ed.), Normal aging II: Reports from the Duke Longitudinal Studies, 1970–1973.Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
16.
LahtelaK.NiemiP.KuuselaV. (1985). Adult visual choice-reaction time, age, sex and preparedness. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 26, 357–362.
17.
LandauerA. A.ArmstrongS.DigwoodJ. (1980). Sex difference in choice reaction time. British Journal of Psychology, 71, 551–555.
18.
MatheyF. J. (1976). Psychomotor performance and reaction speed in old age. In ThomaeH. (Ed.), Contributions to human development, Volume 3: Patterns of aging — Findings from the Bonn Longitudinal Study of Aging (pp. 36–50). New York: Karger.
19.
MunroS. J. (1951). The retention of the increase in speed of movement transferred from a motivated simple response. Research Quarterly, 22, 229–233.
20.
NobleC. E.BakerB. L.JonesT. A. (1964). Age and sex parameters in psychomotor learning. Perception and Motor Skills, 19, 935–945.
21.
OlofinbobaO.VercruyssenM. (1990). DAS: Data analysis system for IBM compatible microcomputers, Version 2.05. Statistical software by M. Vercruyssen, Human Factors Department, ISSM, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089–0021.
22.
PiersonW. R.MontoyeH. J. (1958). Movement time, reaction time, and age. Journal of Gerontology, 13, 418–421.
23.
SageG. H. (1977). Introduction to motor behavior: A neuropsychological approach.Menlo Park, CA: Addison Wesley.
24.
ShockN. W. (1985). Longitudinal studies of aging in humans. In FinchC. E.SchneiderE. L., Handbook of the biology of aging, (pp. 721–743). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
25.
SieglerI. C. (1977). Longitudinal reaction time patterns (Unpublished manuscript, Duke University).
26.
SimonJ. R. (1967). Choice reaction time as a function of auditory SR correspondence, age and sex. Economics, 10, 659–664.
27.
SpirdusoW. W. (1975). Reaction and movement time as a function of age and physical activity level. Journal of Gerontology, 30, 435–440.
28.
SpirdusoW. W.CliffordP. (1978). Replication of age and physical activity effects on reaction and movement time. Journal of Gerontology, 33, 26–30.
29.
SzafranJ. (1951). Changes with age and with exclusion of vision in performance at an aiming task. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3, 111–118.
30.
ThomaeH. (Ed.) (1976). Patterns of aging - Findings from the Bonn Longitudinal Study of Aging (Contributions to human development, Volume 3).New York: Karger.
31.
VrtunskiP. B.PattersonM. B.HillG.O. (1984). Factor analysis of choice reaction time in young and elderly subjects. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 59, 659–676.
32.
WaughN. C.FozardJ. L.TallandG. A.ErwinD. E. (1973). Effects of age and stimulus repetition on two-choice reaction time. Journal of Gerontology, 28, 466–470.
33.
WilkieF.EisdorferC.SieglerI. (1975). Reaction time changes in the aged. In Proceedings of 10th International Congress of Gerontology, Vol. 2, 177. (Jerusalem, Israel).
