Technology and Older Adults Essay -- Research Age Essays

Technology and Older Adults It is commonly believed that older people are uncomfortable with new forms of technology and that they are more resistant to using technology than are younger people. This belief often places older people at a disadvantage, because designers fail to consider older people as a potential user group when designing technology, both software and hardware (Parsons, Terner, & Kersley, 1994). Another misconception is that the elderly are unable to learn new skills. Older people are frequently overlooked when opportunities for technology training or retraining are made available, however, a study of aging and cognitive abilities concluded that decreases in intelligence are modest until people reach their eighties. Even at the age of 80, fewer than half of the individuals showed measurable decreases (Holt, 1998). And still another misconception is the belief that the elderly are set in their ways, that they are not open to change or capable of creativity. Research, again, has disproved suc h claims, showing that creativity is a personality trait and does not depend upon age (Ibid.). What then has led to these public misconceptions? Part of the problem could be a trait called cautiousness. Cautiousness in older adult problem-solving is "one of the most frequently mentioned performance-limiting factors" and is described as a "hesitancy about making responses that may be incorrect" (Salthouse, 1991). The research finding is that older adults do not perform as well as younger adults because older adults do not have as much success in solving logical problems, spatial ability problems, inductive reasoning problems, or practical problems. Younger adults tend to show a better performance if the task requi... ...and cautiousness in decision: A review of the literature. Human Development, 19, pp. 220-233. Parsons, H.M., Terner, J., and Kearsley, G. (1994). Design of remote control units for seniors, Experimental Aging Research, 20, pp. 211-218. Salthouse, T. A.. (1991). Theoretical perspectives on cognitive aging, Hillsdale, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. White, Heidi; McConnell, Eleanor; Clipp, Elizabeth; Bynum, Louise; Teague, Carmen; Navas, Luis; Craven, Sara; and Halbrecht, Herbert. (1999). Surfing the net in later life: A review of the literature and pilot study of computer use and quality of life. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 18(3), pp. 358-378. Zeithaml, V. A. and Gilly, M. C. (1987). Characteristics affecting the acceptance of retailing technologies: A comparison of elderly and nonelderly consumers, Journal of Retailing, 63, p. 4948.