IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/geronb/v75y2020i2p229-240..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Aging and n-Back Performance: A Meta-Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Kara L Bopp
  • Paul Verhaeghen
  • Nicole Anderson

Abstract

ObjectivesTo provide a systematic review of age-related differences in n-back performance.MethodMeta-analytic data aggregation.ResultsAccess for items stored within the focus of attention (0-back and 1-back) was very fast and quasi-perfect; when items are held outside the focus (n > 1), an additional cost was accrued in both accuracy and response time. Age-related differences in accuracy conformed to this bifurcation. Longer lists led to larger costs when going from 1-back to 2-back in older adults. For 1-back accuracy, studies that used visual (as opposed to verbal) stimuli, were experimenter-paced, and used shorter list lengths led to larger age-related differences; for 2-back accuracy, a larger difference in chronological age, visual stimuli, and a higher target proportion led to larger age-related differences. For 1-back response times, age-related differences were larger for studies that had a larger chronological age difference, used experimenter pacing, did not contain lures, and used shorter list lengths; for 2-back response times, age-related differences were larger for studies with larger chronological age differences, visual presentation, experimenter pacing, and a higher target proportion.DiscussionThe results suggest a specific age-related deficit associated with focus switching within working memory. Evidence for specific executive-control-related explanations, in contrast, is mixed.

Suggested Citation

  • Kara L Bopp & Paul Verhaeghen & Nicole Anderson, 2020. "Aging and n-Back Performance: A Meta-Analysis," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 75(2), pages 229-240.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:geronb:v:75:y:2020:i:2:p:229-240.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/geronb/gby024
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kara L. Bopp & Paul Verhaeghen, 2005. "Aging and Verbal Memory Span: A Meta-Analysis," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 60(5), pages 223-233.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Oberholzer, Yvonne & Olschewski, Sebastian & Scheibehenne, Benjamin, 2024. "Complexity aversion in risky choices and valuations: Moderators and possible causes," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    2. Wongupparaj, Peera & Wongupparaj, Rangsirat & Kumari, Veena & Morris, Robin G., 2017. "The Flynn effect for verbal and visuospatial short-term and working memory: A cross-temporal meta-analysis," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 71-80.
    3. Rafael Román-Caballero & Marisa Arnedo & Mónica Triviño & Juan Lupiáñez, 2018. "Musical practice as an enhancer of cognitive function in healthy aging - A systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-23, November.
    4. Pahlen, Shandell & Hamdi, Nayla R. & Dahl Aslan, Anna K. & Horwitz, Briana N. & Panizzon, Matthew S. & Petersen, Inge & Zavala, Catalina & Christensen, Kaare & Finkel, Deborah & Franz, Carol E. & Gatz, 2018. "Age-moderation of genetic and environmental contributions to cognitive functioning in mid- and late-life for specific cognitive abilities," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 70-81.
    5. Hong Liu, 2023. "Attention: The Cognitive Effects of Learning to Read in Arabic by Chinese Learners at an Old Age," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.
    6. Henseke, Golo & Tivig, Thusnelda, 2008. "Age, occupations, and opportunities for older workers in Germany," Thuenen-Series of Applied Economic Theory 86, University of Rostock, Institute of Economics.
    7. Teal S Eich & Anna MacKay-Brandt & Yaakov Stern & Daniel Gopher, 2018. "Age-Based Differences in Task Switching Are Moderated by Executive Control Demands," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 73(6), pages 954-963.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:geronb:v:75:y:2020:i:2:p:229-240.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.