Designing Across The Technological Age Gap

we’ve just learned that the aging brain decreases in overall size and weight and that the processing speed is greatly reduced and things like multitasking become very

Quadagno (2014) discusses ways cognitive abilities differ from young-adults, middle-old adults and oldest old adults. Cognitive decline can also be affected by conditions such as stroke, depression, diabetes, auditory, and vision problems. Older adults may also encounter age related cognitive decline in their daily lives. Cognitive abilities such as processing speed, episodic memory, working memory and dual task processing are abilities that researchers are aiming to improve in older adults (Basak, et al, 2008; Quadagno, 2014).

#2 fact: Older boomers may feel intimated and overwhelmed by new technology making them less likely to embrace it. While 86% of boomers may have cellphones, only 29% have a smartphone. (CNN,

Aging is a natural process of life however, studies show that there are some age-related decline in cognitive development. As a person grows older some brain cell dies, shrink, or weaken and cause some decline in brain functions. Some cognitive processes include attention, working memory, long-term memory, perception, and executive control. The material will explain the effect of aging on cognitive development by providing scholarly research proof.

Over the centuries, the term dementia has evolved from one that described any change in intellect or judgement in the elderly, to a collection of cognitive and behavioral symptoms correlated with specific neuropathology. The aging process is thought to have three possible cognitive outcomes: (1) normal age related decline, which is often described as normal and healthy aging; (2) age associated memory impairment, which is not as severe and does not have all of the features of dementia; (3) dementia, for which there are many types (Christensen & O’Brien, 2000).

In fact, cognitive abilities gradually decline as time progresses. From the observation, it was seen that a considerable number of the seniors in the room were not able to remember or recall certain names of the volunteers. A physiological explanation for this involves the neurons of the brain. As age progresses, the fibers of the neurons’ axons twist to form neurofibrillary tangles (Kail & Cavanuagh, 2016). The causes of neurofibrillary tangles are unknown; however, the structure of the axons make it for difficult for signals to be transmitted and relayed from neuron to neuron. In late adulthood, information processing speed declines because of how the central nervous system has been deteriorating over time (Shaban, 2017). Some examples of illnesses that illustrate this process are dementia and Alzheimer’s. In both illnesses, elderly individuals are not able to store, process, and retrieve information as quickly as younger individuals. Seniors take a longer time to learn and retain new information. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 15% of old aged people suffer from mental disorders (Choolayil, 2017). The quality of cognitive abilities can either be maintained or declined depending on how frequently the individual “exercises” his or her brain. Seniors can practice and hone their critical and abstract thinking skills. The observed seniors had the opportunity to keep their minds active by participating in activities such as reading books, doing arts and crafts, or playing crossword or puzzle games. If the brain is continually inclined to think and discover, the likelihood of developing mental disorders or cognitive impairment

When the recent focus is mainly on studying memory decline that is caused by diseases, memory decline that occurs with normal aging is being disregarded. According to Daselaar and Cabeza, it is important to confine between normal age-related memory decline and the one that is caused by a disease, such as Alzheimer’s, so the person can be provided with the proper treatment at the right time (Daselaar and Cabeza 2008, 577). In my point of view, the main focus of these studies should be on episodic memory, because it is affected the most by aging in comparison to other long-term memory components such as semantic and implicit memory. Denice C. Park and her coworkers have shown in their research (2002) that as verbal knowledge increases across the life span, processing-intensive tasks start to decline since we are on our 20’s. These include for example long term memory, speed of processing, and short term memory; with long-term memory being significantly the most responsive to decline. Since long-term memory has been found to be the most sensitive to age-related cognitive changes, the onset time of this decline has been studied

We are less physically and mentally flexible, and take more time to process information, according to (Underwood, 2014). Memory changes occur as well, and it’s common to have greater difficulty remembering names of people, places and other things as we age. Normal forgetting has several types blocking, suggestibility, and bias which they mostly occur while aging. These three types are the most common and it appears during any age but it gets worse when the person get older. The first type, blocking this type of forgetting is when the person tries to remember something that is already in his/her memory but not being able to remember at that time or say it out load right at the moment. (Daniel, 2011). When people age they are more relevant of memory loss but that doesn’t mean that they completely lost their memory but in the mean time they cannot immediately recall the information. Blocking memory which also is an example of the tip-of- the- tongue (TOT), “an experience in which one is certain that information is in memory but is temporarily unable to retrieve it” (Brown, 1991,

Whether it is remembering what groceries to buy, exercising, or multitasking, as human beings, age, daily tasks or activities to become more difficult to carry out. With technology significantly improving, it can become increasingly difficult for an aging adult to keep up with the steadily advancing world. Just as we maintain our heart health, maintenance of brain health in older adults are is important to society and everyday lives of individuals. Brain training, such as brain games, enhances the cognition and memory functions in older adults. By maintaining brain health, brain training can not only enhance cognitive functions but, can help positively transfer skills required to execute daily activities that require alertness, lack of

That attitude can certainly apply to new developments in technology. No one is ever too old to learn something new, particularly when it can make his or her lives better or easier. Apple continues to provide innovative devices and applications, which can provide older members of society with new ways of monitoring their health, finances and enjoying past times. They no longer have to worry as much about being alone or being a bother to their children and grandchildren. With a little determination and a little training, seniors can master the use of modern technology and make it work for them.

The processing of information takes place in the brain. The way in which the brain processes information determines a person’s ability to remember things. Several lifestyle factors influence the manner in which a person processes information and memorizes things. Exclusively, aging and Alzheimer’s disease cause problems that relate to brain functions. However, there are wide ranges of risk factors, which include medical disorders and lifestyle factors. When a person is aging, health problems such as high blood pressure become common. Coupled with age-related alterations in the brain, it becomes difficult for a person to effectively process information (Cheng et al., 2012). Certain illnesses can also cause memory loss, although the effect is limited. Certain lifestyles such as poor eating habits and lack of exercise may cause health problems such obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes, which make aged people prone to several health conditions that cause memory loss. The two possible reasons for decline in processing with age are when older adults have difficulty inhibiting the processing of irrelevant information. Older adults are not worse than younger adults at dividing attention.(Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2015).

College students from the end of time have been talking about whether they feel they have good memory or not. College students carry a lot on their plate and are required to remember quite a few things on a day to day basis. When things are to be recalled, some people find it difficult if not impossible to remember what it is they had to. This difficult tasks stems from having an unproductive part in the neural cell activity because everyone should have fairly good memory. Does aging have an effect on memory recall? Does a person’s poor memory recall have to do with a neurological disorder? Does the amount of time given to learn something, effect the ability to recall? In this paper, first, the literature on memory retrieval and neural cell activity is reviewed. And then, an experiment will be proposed to examine the effects of time spent learning new information on memory recall.

In regards to cognitive psychology and the ways in which we define ourselves in terms of individuals, is one of the biggest areas of interest. The area defines the process used in order to acquire, receive, retain and store the information in which is received. During childhood our memory grows, and through adulthood throughout until our middle age, where shortly after we begin to decline in productivity. Initially, when a person grows and changes, their brain begins to change and their cognitive functions worsen. One example being the way in which we appropriately word and express things, begins to decline in fluency and accuracy. (American psychological association, 2006). Studies have shown that the semantic and procedural memory declines the least, while that flashbulb memory declines the most. The amount of large declination varies due to middle age sensitivity and the lack of self-efficiency. The memory initially declines based not on the lack of storage, but merely how they retain and store that information which is being received. Naturally, this happens because the cortex shrinks, leaving a serious lack of blood flow to the brain, and triggers that loss, which is naturally all apart of the aging process. Some natural signs of normal age related memory loss can include the occasional forgetfulness of where we placed something

Information processing of older adults, such as psychomotor skills slows down with age, particularly with ambiguous information processing and is a consideration of a universal, cross-cultural phenomenon (Kail & Salthouse, 1984). Interestingly when the task is not difficult, this can make the predictor of psychomotor decline difficult. For instance, are basic daily tasks such as cooking, dressing, self-care, and hygiene. On the other hand, attention to more demanding tasks such as driving is a relation to changes such as vision, hearing, reaction time, and attention (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2013), for example. A counselor may suggest that a client make a goal to try a new daily task such as using technology to play a game online that requires improving reaction time.

Maintaining productivity beyond 60 years old depends, in large part, on maintaining a level of cognitive ability that allows a person to continue to interact effectively and appropriately with the environment. Cognitive decline is becoming a more prevalent, frightening, and expensive personal and social problem – but a problem that companies can more effectively address with innovative products and services.