Word-Processing Training and Retraining: Effects of Adult Age, Experience, and Interface

Novice (Experiment 1) and experienced (Experiment 2) young, middle-aged, and older adults learned a new word-processing application in keystrokes, menus, or menus-plus-icons interface conditions. Novices showed strong age differences in the time to complete the 3-day tutorial and in declarative and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology and aging 2001-03, Vol.16 (1), p.110-127
Main Authors: Charness, Neil, Kelley, Catherine L, Bosman, Elizabeth A, Mottram, Melvin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult. Elderly
Age
Age Differences
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Attention - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition - physiology
Computer Software
Computer Training
Developmental psychology
Effects
Experience Level
Experiences
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Learning Rate
Male
Memory - physiology
Middle Aged
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychomotor Performance
Random Allocation
Reaction Time
Retraining
Teaching
Test Performance
Training
Vocabulary
Word Processing
Wordprocessing
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Summary:Novice (Experiment 1) and experienced (Experiment 2) young, middle-aged, and older adults learned a new word-processing application in keystrokes, menus, or menus-plus-icons interface conditions. Novices showed strong age differences in the time to complete the 3-day tutorial and in declarative and procedural tests of word-processing knowledge. Menus and menus-plus-icons were superior to keystrokes conditions, though interface did not interact with age. Experienced users showed age-related slowing in learning rate but minimal age differences in test performance when retrained on a new word-processing program. Age and computer experience accounted for much of the variance in both learning time and word-processing performance; interface type, speed of processing, and spatial generation ability made additional contributions. Experience interacted with age to predict performance. Implications for training and retraining older workers are discussed.
ISSN:0882-7974
1939-1498
DOI:10.1037/0882-7974.16.1.110