| The inhibitory deficit hypothesis (Hasher & Zacks, 1988) of age-related cognitive decline was investigated. Thirty younger and 25 older adults were tested on two measures of suppression (negative priming (NP) and Stroop tasks) as well as on classic Stroop interference. The attentional blink (AB; Raymond, Shapiro, & Arnell, 1992), which is a phenomenon observed in a dual-task rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) was also investigated. Younger and older adults produced equivalent suppression effects on both the Stroop and NP tasks, while older adults exhibited increased Stroop interference and an increased AB magnitude, relative to the younger adults. It is suggested that the results support the inhibitory deficit hypothesis that older adults have a deficit in inhibitory mechanisms. It is also suggested that the AB paradigm may be a very useful tool for further investigations of cognitive decline with age. |
