Application of Cognitive Theory to Training and Design Solutions …aalbu/seng 412...

Application of Cognitive Theory to Training andDesign Solutions for Age-related Computer Use

Sherry E. Mead, Peter Batsakes, Arthur D. Fisk,and Amy Mykityshyn

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA

As the prevalence of computer-based technologies increases throughoutsociety, so does the likelihood that older adults will be required to interactwith them. Unfortunately, such systems often appear to older adults to be toohard to use and too hard to learn. We provide examples highlighting theopportunities available to behavioural science to affect training and systemdesign through practically relevant research. We focus on our research onageing, computer use, and training to support our assertion that appliedresearch aimed at designing training materials and system interfaces toenhance the performance of older adults can and should be driven bypsychological theory. The data presented and studies reviewed here clearlydemonstrate that theory is critical for predicting age differences in computeruse, for guiding the development of both training and design interventionsfor older computer users, and for reconciling con�icting �ndings in thedesign-evaluation literature.

INTRODUCTIONThis paper explores relationships between age-group differences incomputer-based task performance and age-related differences in basiccognitive processes. Applied cognitive ageing researchers (e.g. Charness,

Requests for reprints can be sent to any author at School of Psychology, Georgia Instituteof Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332–0170, USA. e-mail: arthur.�[email protected] [email protected]

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (National Institute onAging) Grants P50 AG11715 and R01 AG07654. The authors would like to thank W. Rogersfor critical review of an earlier version of this paper. We would also like to thank N. Walkerfor the long discussions that motivated this and other research.

c 1999 The International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT, 1999, 23 (3), 553–573

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Kelley, Bosman, & Mottram, 1996; Czaja, 1996; Mead & Fisk, 1997, 1998;Morrell & Echt, 1996) have asserted that psychological theory can driveapplication. In support of this assertion, we present examples of theory-driven applied research conducted in our laboratory and in thelaboratories of other researchers interested in ageing and computerliteracy. Systematic investigations involving three different computer-based systems likely to be encountered by older adults—the World WideWeb (WWW), computerised library card catalogues, and automatic tellermachines (ATMs)—are described.

Why Study Ageing and Computer Literacy?

A signi�cant trend in the demographics of the United States and othernations is the increase in age of the general population (Czaja & Guion,1990). At the same time, technology is advancing at a rate never beforeexperienced. It has become particularly important to gain an under-standing of how older adults interact with technological advancementsbecause computers have become an integral part of our everydayexperience. Many situations that traditionally have involved directpersonal contact are now mediated by technologies in order to increaseef�ciency, convenience, and cost effectiveness. For example, paying with acredit or debit card at a grocery store or gas station often requires the userto interact with an automated system mounted at the checkout counter orpump. Some banks even charge customers who conduct their transactionswith a human teller in order to encourage the use of ATMs. The likelihoodthat older members of the population will encounter these technologies,either in the home or work environment, will certainly increase.

Although it is important to note that computerised systems are socommon that older adults may not be able to avoid them, it is moreimportant to note that computer use has the potential to signi�cantlyimprove quality of life for older adults. Computers can be a valuablemeans of social interaction and mental stimulation for older adults (Czaja,Guerrier, Nair, & Landauer, 1993). For example, computer-assistedinstruction can be effective as an education strategy for older adults(McNeely, 1991). Nursing home and adult day care programmeparticipants reported improvements in self-esteem and life satisfactionwhen personal computers were introduced (Sherer, 1996). Further, at leastsome older adults appear to be aware of the potential bene�ts of computeruse. Czaja (1996) conducted a thorough review of the literature on ageingand computer literacy and concluded that older adults are generallyreceptive to the use of technology and are willing to learn to usecomputers.

TRAINING AND DESIGN SOLUTIONS 555

Despite older adults’ apparent willingness to bene�t from computers,older adults are less likely to use computers than younger adults and olderadults who do use computers report less computer experience thanyounger computer users (see Morrell & Echt, 1997; Rogers, Cabrera,Walker, Gilbert, & Fisk, 1996a). In fact, adults over the age of 55 areapproximately 50% less likely to have computers in their homes thanadults aged 25 to 54 (McConnaughey, 1998). Older adults experienceconsiderably more dif�culty than younger adults when learning to usecomputerised systems (Czaja, 1996; Kelley & Charness, 1995; Rogers, Fisk,Mead, Walker, & Cabrera, 1996b) and consistently take more time andmake more errors when performing a variety of computer-based tasks(Morrell & Echt, 1996). Therefore, it is worthwhile to gain a deeperunderstanding of the dif�culties encountered by older adults when learningto use computers and new computer software. Such an effort should lead tothe development of explicit performance predictions from which speci�ctraining and design interventions can be advanced.

The successful development of age-appropriate training and designinterventions requires an understanding of declines in cognitive abilitiesthat are associated with increased chronological age (see Park, 1992 for areview). Some of these cognitive declines may play a crucial role in olderadults’ apparent dif�culties in learning to bene�t from computertechnology (Czaja, 1996; Morrell & Echt, 1996). However, there havebeen few speci�c predictions of age differences in the performance ofcomputerised tasks which have been driven by basic theories of cognitiveageing developed in the laboratory (but see Charness et al., 1996; andMead & Fisk, 1998 for examples). The present paper illustrates the utilityof theoretical cognitive ageing research in predicting and understandingage differences in learning and performing computerised tasks.

The Psychological Focus of the Present Paper

As the major focus in the present paper, we review theoreticallymotivated, design-relevant research to demonstrate how failures ofepisodic memory can affect computerised task performance by youngerand older adults and how age-related training principles can be used topartially overcome these performance dif�culties. Researchers in the areaof human memory have drawn a distinction between episodic andprocedural memory systems (Tulving, 1985). Episodic memory involvesconscious recollection of personally experienced events and their temporalrelations and is usually tested through direct measures such as free recall(Craik & Jennings, 1992; Howard & Howard, 1989). Procedural memory,on the other hand, can only be expressed through behaviour and is not

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amenable to conscious recollection (Tulving, 1985). Procedural memory isoften thought of as re�ecting the direct application of knowledge withoutguidance from other interpretive mechanisms (Anderson, 1983) and isusually tested through indirect measures such as repetition priming (Craik& Jennings, 1992; Howard & Howard, 1989; Mitchell, 1989).

Older adults often show declines in episodic memory task performancerelative to younger adults, but show little or no decline in proceduralmemory task performance (Howard, 1988; Howard & Howard, 1989;Light, Singh, & Capps, 1986; Rabinowitz, 1986; see also Mitchell, 1989 fora review). For example, Mitchell, Brown, and Murphy (1990) investigatedage differences in procedural and episodic memory using a picture-namingtask. Procedural memory was measured by priming effects on picturenaming (latency for naming previously presented vs. new pictures).Episodic memory was measured by picture name recognition (old-newjudgements). Older and younger adults showed similar priming effects forup to three weeks. However, older adults performed more poorly thanyounger adults on the recognition test. Mitchell et al. interpreted theirresults as evidence for distinct memory systems that are differentiallysensitive to ageing.

Craik (1986) asserted that the lack of environmental support offered bydirect memory procedures is responsible for age-related episodic memoryfailures. Environmental support refers to the amount of externalstimulation that is available to support cognitive processes such as memoryretrieval. Tasks that offer little environmental support require individualsto engage in self-initiated procedures that have characteristics ofcontrolled, effortful processes and are more sensitive to age-relatedcapacity limitations (Hasher & Zacks, 1979). Direct tests of memory, suchas free recall tests, typically offer little environmental support. Indirecttests of memory, such as priming procedures, often provide some form ofenvironmental support which permits the activation of less effortful orautomatic retrieval. The predicted result is little or no age-relateddifferences in indirect memory task performance and age differencesfavouring younger adults in direct memory task performance (see Craik &Jennings, 1992 for a review). Craik’s (1986) and Mitchell et al.’s (1990)interpretations of this pattern of age differences suggest that agedifferences in complex task performance should be observed for taskcomponents that force participants to rely on episodic memory. Craik’sinterpretation also suggests that designing environmental support into atask should improve performance, especially for older adults. The questionof interest here is the extent to which we can apply conclusions derivedfrom theoretical laboratory research to the prediction of age differences incomputerised task performance and the selection of design and traininginterventions.


Use of Psychological Theory to PredictAge-related Computerised Task Performance

Fisk and Kirlik (1996) identi�ed the ability of a scienti�c �eld to motivateand inform solutions of practical importance as a key measure of itsprogress and success. In the �eld of experimental psychology, andcognitive ageing speci�cally, there needs to be greater emphasis on theapplication of basic theoretical principles towards solutions to problemsencountered in the everyday world. In the �eld of computer literacy,scaling up from basic laboratory tasks to complex, real-world systems isoften problematic because the opportunities to control task-relevantvariables which exist in laboratory settings are rarely encountered outsidethe laboratory. For instance, when we test systems in the �eld, we areusually unable to constrain the myriad of different strategies thatindividuals can employ to deal with complex task demands. Thesedif�culties notwithstanding, this type of work, and the obtained results,are important for advancing the science and practice of cognitive ageing.

Researchers who have applied the theoretical cognitive psychology andageing literature to the prediction of age differences computer-based taskperformance have done so with varying degrees of success. For instance,Charness et al. (1996) attempted to predict age differences in word-processing task performance using general principles derived from human-computer interaction and cognitive ageing research. They compared threeinterfaces for a widely used word-processing program. One interfaceallowed keystroke command entry only. A second interface allowedparticipants to select commands from menus using a pointing device (acomputer mouse). A third interface allowed participants to selectcommands from menus or from a button bar with different iconsrepresenting each command. Charness et al. expected older adults to: (1)bene�t more than younger adults from the greater environmental supportprovided by the menus and menus plus icons interfaces; (2) make slowerresponses and a greater number of errors in the menus plus icons conditionthan in the menus only condition due to response competition (the faneffect described by Anderson, 1974); and (3) complete the training andtarget tasks 1.4–2.0 times more slowly than younger adults, which would beconsistent with the predictions of generalised slowing theory (Cerella,1985; Salthouse, 1985).

The results of the Charness et al. (1996) study supported only one oftheir three predictions. Older adults took more time to complete the tasks,consistent with generalised slowing theory, but no signi�cant Age byInterface interactions were found. Charness et al. suggested three plausibleexplanations for their failure to �nd Age by Interface interactions,speci�cally: (1) insuf�cient power due to low ground n’s and high

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performance variability; (2) no fan effect could be observed becauseparticipants never built up a mental model of the task—they learnedcommands essentially by rote; or (3) the self-paced training allowed olderparticipants additional learning time, which eliminated age-relatedperformance differences in the more demanding conditions. Theseexplanations are important to review because they point to the dif�cultyinherent in design-related research that is theoretically motivated (see Fisk& Kirlik, 1996; Fisher, 1993 for more detailed reviews of this issue).

Although only one of the three predictions in the Charness et al. (1996)study was con�rmed, it still provides a valuable example of how appliedcognitive ageing research should be conducted. It is within such aframework of using theory to guide application-oriented research thatwe will present a review of our research on ageing and the acquisition ofcomputer-based skills. Through our past investigations into the effects ofage on complex task performance, we have been able to document age-related performance differences across a number of real world, computer-based systems (Mead, Spaulding, Sit, Meyer, & Walker, 1997a; Mead, Sit,Rogers, Jamieson, & Rousseau, 1997b; Mead & Fisk, 1997, 1998). Thepresent review will focus on consistencies in task demands across threecomputer systems. Speci�cally, we focus on the effects of episodic memoryfailures on menu and �le structure navigation in the context ofhierarchically organised automatic teller machine menus (Mead & Fisk,1997, 1998), the network �le structure found in a World Wide Web site(Mead et al., 1997a), and the hierarchical �le structure found in acomputerised library catalogue (Mead et al., 1997b). We end with a sectionoutlining the ability of theoretically motivated research to dramaticallyaffect system design. That section is a review of research conducted touncover general principles of age-related movement control differencesthat led to interface designs that bene�ted users of all ages.

STUDY 1: WWW SITE NAVIGATION

The World Wide Web (WWW) has become an increasingly importantsource of information, services, and even social contact. Much availableinformation is useful to older adults. Web guides such as Third Age(www.thirdage.com) provide advice, chat, and directories intended toserve the needs and interests of older WWW users. Older adults who travelcan rent cars and buy plane tickets on-line. They can also �nd public andprivate transit information. Home-bound older adults can shop andsocialise on-line. Clearly, the WWW has much to offer older adults, so it isimportant to design web sites to be accessible to older users.

Although web site designers are beginning to take note of the increasingproportion of older users, little information about web site usability for


older adults is available. We (Mead et al., 1997a) recently studied theeffects of age and training on web site usability. A brief discussion of ourresults is presented here for comparison with previously unpublished datafrom our studies of ATMs and computerised library databases.

Searching a web site typically involves reading text and selectinghyperlinks that may provide access to information related to the searcher’sgoal. Mead et al. (1997a) provided older and younger searchers with goalsin the form of questions. Searchers were required to think aloud whilereading text and selecting hyperlinks until they displayed the answer to thequestion on-screen. Successful searching frequently involved revisiting thesame web page, often via the same hyperlink. Ef�cient searching requiredgood memory for whether or not a particular page had been visited whileperforming the present task rather than an earlier task with a differentgoal. If the page was visited while performing the current task, revisiting itwill not help the searcher complete the task. If the page was visited whileperforming an earlier task, revisiting it may be useful. Thus, ef�cient websearching requires good memory for the context in which a particularaction was taken. Episodic memory failures should cause searchers tofollow the same hypertext links and visit the same web pages repeatedlywhile performing a single search task. We expected to �nd more evidenceof episodic memory failures among older searchers than among youngersearchers.

Eleven older adults and 15 younger adults who had never searched theWorld Wide Web were asked to navigate to the answers to nine questionsthat could be found in an experimental web site. The site was roughlyhierarchically organised with a ‘‘home’’ page at the top of the hierarchy,several index pages at the next lower level, and primary and secondarycontent pages making up the third and fourth levels. A variety of commonweb navigation tools allowed searchers to access pages at various levels inthe hierarchy. Pages further up in the hierarchy allowed access to a largernumber of other pages than those at lower levels.

Age differences in search success and ef�ciency for the WWWnavigation task were found. Older adults were as likely as younger adultsto complete search tasks that required two or fewer moves (hypertext linksto follow plus pages to scroll), but were somewhat less likely than youngeradults to complete tasks that required three or more moves. Older adultsfollowed more hypertext links and scrolled more pages to locate an answerthan did younger adults.

We (Mead et al., 1997a) also found evidence that older adults had moredif�culty recalling previous actions and the locations of previously viewedinformation. Older adults returned to previously visited pages whileperforming a single search task signi�cantly more often than youngeradults. Although older and younger adults occasionally revisited web pages

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during a single search, only older adults were observed to follow ahypertext link, use the Back button on the Netscape web browser to returnto the previous page, then select the same link again. Older adults madethis error despite the change in hypertext colour (from blue to violet) thatoccurs when a link is followed. All participants were informed of thecolour change during training.

Increasing environmental support (Craik, 1986) and the development ofage-appropriate training may improve web site usability for oldersearchers. Increasing support for context encoding and recall may takethe form of more salient markers of previously followed hypertext links(e.g. a more salient colour change) and perceptual cues on web pages, suchas colour-coding or graphics, that searchers can associate with theirinformation content. The effectiveness of age-appropriate training incompensating for the effects of episodic memory failures is discussed in thecontext of ATM simulator training in the present paper (Study 4).

STUDY 2: LIBRARY DATABASE SEARCHThe World Wide Web is one type of computerised information retrievalsystem that older adults are likely to encounter. Another is a computerisedlibrary catalogue, which is a computerised database that allows users toretrieve information about speci�c books, periodicals, indexed citations,and even the holdings of remote libraries. Surveys of library patrons haveshown that a large number of older adults use libraries, but many do notuse computerised library databases (Markey, 1983; Rousseau, Jamieson,Rogers, Mead, & Sit, 1998). Even experienced older users have signi�cantdif�culty with these systems (Sit, 1998). Importantly, many libraries havestopped updating or have discarded their traditional card catalogues.Consequently, all library patrons, regardless of age or expertise, mustsuccessfully search computerised databases to gain full access to librarymaterials.

We (Mead et al., 1997b) asked older and younger novice librarydatabase searchers to search a computerised library database for booksthat met speci�c criteria. We examined query construction errors as afunction of age and computer experience level. For the purpose of thispaper, we reanalysed the data from the Mead et al. (1997b) study toevaluate possible age differences in recall for prior actions. Repeatedviewing of the same database records and lists of records would indicatepoor recall for earlier commands and the context in which they wereentered. For example, selecting Record 1 twice from the same list wouldnot provide searchers with new information, but selecting Record 1 from adifferent list displays a new database record. More frequent episodicmemory failures may cause older searchers to perform the same action in


the same context, such as repeatedly viewing the same database record,more frequently than younger searchers.

In this study, participants were 10 older adults aged 63 to 76 years and 10younger adults aged 18 to 25 years who had never searched a computerisedlibrary database. Younger and older participants did not differ signi�cantlyin terms of frequency of computer use (P = .15), or number of computerapplications used (P = .55).

Participants searched The University of Georgia’s on-line librarydatabase, which contains over one million records. The system forsearching the database employs a command line interface and amonochromatic text display. To search the database, users must specifya search method (e.g. keyword search), a database �eld to search (e.g.author), and one or more keywords (e.g. ‘‘insomnia therapy’’) that couldbe connected by Boolean operators such as AND or OR. The system usedcharacter string matching to match key words to database records. That is,a keyword would match a database record only if all characters, includingspaces, appeared adjacent and in order in the speci�ed �eld. In general,queries took the form:

SearchMethod Field Keyword BooleanOperator Field Keyword

For example, to initiate a keyword search for records having both‘‘Ransom’’ and ‘‘Herbert’’ in the Author �eld, users should enter:

�nd author ransom and author herbert

The on-line library database was accessed from the laboratory via anIBM-compatible personal computer with a local area network connectionto the mainframe computer on which the library system resided.Participants attempted 10 search tasks that varied in dif�culty. All screensviewed and commands entered by participants were recorded.

The data indicate that although older adults were more likely thanyounger adults to view the same database record or list more than once persearch task, this difference was not statistically signi�cant. Both older andyounger searchers revisited screens quite frequently. Previously viewedscreens accounted for 47% (SD = 0.22) of record and list selections byolder adults and 35% (SD = 0.14, P = .18) of selections by younger adults.Older adults searchers were not signi�cantly more likely than youngersearchers to repeat earlier actions when selecting database records or listsof records to view.

The �nding that older participants in this study were not signi�cantlymore likely to revisit screens was not consistent with the �ndings of theWWW navigation study. The result is not due to lack of power. Thediscrepancy in the �ndings seems due to the cognitive requirements of thetwo tasks. Think-aloud protocols indicated that participants in the WWW

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navigation study engaged in different problem-solving behaviour than theparticipants in the library database study. There were two key differencesbetween the library and the WWW search tasks. These differences were asfollows: (1) library study participants could identify target records bymatching character strings in the task descriptions to character strings on-screen. WWW study participants had to search for screen text that wasconceptually related to the task descriptions. (2) Library study participantssearched a numbered list for target text. WWW study participants had tosearch lists of links, button labels, and paragraph text for target hyperlinks.Hence, selecting a library database record to view was a much easier taskfor our participants than was selecting a hypertext link to follow because ofthe difference in problem solving and ‘‘keeping track’’ (memory) activities,which is consistent with the pattern of errors observed across the two tasks.Library study participants simply needed to locate text in a numbered listof records that matched text in the search task descriptions. For example, ifthe task was ‘‘Find books with ‘jelly’ in the title’’, participants could scanthe list for the word ‘‘jelly’’. WWW study participants scanned labelledbuttons, paragraphs, and lists of links that appeared beside or below theparagraphs for hyperlink names that were conceptually related to the taskdescriptions. For example, when searchers tried to answer the question‘‘Can the experts explain the moon illusion?’’, they needed to develop astrategy such as ‘‘scan a web page for link names related to the moon,illusions, or experts’’ and maintain that strategy in working memory. Thisproblem-solving behaviour may have left participants performing theWWW task, especially older adults, with fewer processing resources todevote to encoding the context in which the selection was made. Such anexplanation for the apparently contradictory results of these twoexperiments also could be consistent with the assertion that episodicmemory failures may not be memory failures at all, but encoding failures.However, evidence for this position is equivocal (see Craik & Jennings,1992). Increased complexity is, of course, a possible explanation of thedifferent �ndings as they are consistent with the complexity hypothesis.However, simply using complexity of the task as a guiding principle is notsuf�cient for uncovering training or design solutions to overcome agedifferences in performance. A deeper task and cognitive analysis seemsrequired.

STUDY 3: ATM TRAINING EVALUATION

The preceding two sections presented descriptions of the effects ofepisodic memory failure on web site and hierarchical database navigationin support of our assertion that theoretical laboratory research can informus about age differences in computerised task performance. In the next


section, we describe the effects of episodic memory failure on automaticteller machine (ATM) menu navigation. The focus, however, is on the useof theoretical laboratory research to guide the development of traininginterventions that disproportionately bene�t older adults. We will describehow properly designed training materials can reduce the effects of age-related declines in episodic memory performance and working memory.

We (Rogers et al., 1996b) created three sets of instructional materials fortraining older adults to use automatic teller machines (ATMs) thatdiffered primarily in terms of mode of presentation: (a) text instructions inparagraph format; (b) text instructions in outline format with pictures ofeach system state; or (c) an interactive on-line tutorial that instructedparticipants to take the correct action at each system state. A fourth groupthat received no training provided a measure of baseline performance. Allfour groups read a description of ATMs prior to training that toldparticipants what ATMs are and how they work, but not how to operatethem. The description contained the types of information about ATMsprovided by banks located in the areas within which research volunteerswere recruited.

We based predictions about the relative performance of the four groupson our awareness of age-related declines in working memory, on therelationship between instructional design and cognitive load described bySweller and colleagues (Sweller, 1994; Sweller, Chandler, Tierny, &Cooper, 1990), and on the proximity compatibility principle described byWickens and colleagues (Barnett & Wickens, 1988; Carswell & Wickens,1987; Wickens & Andre, 1990). Sweller’s cognitive load theory andWickens’ proximity compatibility principle predict that the combinedeffects of forcing learners to divide their attention between informationsources (e.g. text and pictures or text and a computer screen) and mentallyintegrate the separate information interfere with learning and result inpoorer performance. A training system that facilitates high mentalproximity (in the language of the proximity compatibility principle) orrequires low mental integration of information (in the language ofcognitive load theory) should result in the best learning, all other factorsbeing equal. The on-line tutorial was developed to facilitate high mentalproximity. For that condition, instructions for selecting and activatingtarget controls were presented on the screen, adjacent to the targetcontrols. The text/picture condition required more mental integration, thetext instructions did not contain context within which to integrate systemstate information with pictures of the system. Thus, the prediction was thatthe on-line tutorial should produce the best learning, the control conditionthe worst learning, with the other two conditions possibly intermediate.

After receiving instruction with the speci�ed instructional material,participants in the Rogers et al. (1996b) study performed a total of 50

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ATM transactions including practice and transfer transactions. Althoughall instruction groups tended to outperform the ‘‘bank-information only’’group, only the on-line tutorial group showed signi�cantly superiorperformance. The on-line tutorial group was faster and more accuratethan the ‘‘bank-information only’’ group immediately after instruction andmore accurate after transferring to the new ATM simulator. Thus, a majorprediction was con�rmed.

These �ndings seem to contradict the results of a study that comparedthree methods for training older adults to use a word-processing program(Czaja, Hammond, Blascovich, & Swede, 1989). Czaja et al. comparedclassroom instruction to the on-line tutorial and manual sold with the wordprocessor and concluded that the on-line tutorial was less effective thanclassroom- and paper-based instruction for older learners. An importantdifference between these two studies is that the Czaja et al. studyemployed off-the-shelf training materials whereas Rogers et al. (1996b)designed training materials explicitly for their experiment in order to testapproaches to the application of attentional theories to instructionaldesign. Our data do not imply that the Czaja et al. �ndings are incorrect.Rather, they point to the need to analyse carefully tutorials/instructionalmaterials across studies. Moreover, there is little doubt that no singleinstructional design will always be ‘‘the best’’ training solution. One needsto understand the learning domain, the characteristics of the learners, thenature of the to-be-learned material, and the nature of the task to beperformed. It is quite conceivable that, within a given system, theapplication of different training approaches at different points in trainingor to different cognitive task components may be the best trainingapproach. Theory (and application in some domains) suggests that thismultifaceted approach is critical (e.g. Rogers, Maurer, Salas, & Fisk, 1997).We tested this view from an age-related perspective within the constrainedATM learning domain in the next study.

STUDY 4: TRAINING ATM MENU NAVIGATIONWe (Mead & Fisk, 1997, 1998) recently conducted an additional ATMtraining study in which we examined the possibility that the trainingemphasis would interact with age and type of to-be-learned material.Speci�cally, we investigated the possibility that procedural learning, and itsassociated bene�ts for performance and retention (e.g. see Mitchell et al.,1990), may be facilitated by appropriate training. Anderson (1983)proposed two learning stages, an initial declarative stage and a subsequentprocedural stage. A learner at the declarative stage must map declarativeor factual knowledge onto stored general procedures (sets of IF condition


THEN action rules) to perform a new task. When declarative knowledge iscompiled into new task-speci�c procedures, the learner no longer engagesin this laborious mapping process and speed and accuracy increase.Further, holding declarative knowledge and general procedures in workingmemory while problem solving taxes cognitive abilities such as �uidintelligence and working memory that show age-related declines (Salt-house, 1991). Thus, proceduralisation should bene�t all learners, but olderlearners should bene�t more than younger learners.

We compared two types of training: Concept and Action. The Concepttraining presented factual information that could be used to identify thetarget button at each system state, which was analogous to providingdeclarative knowledge (Anderson, 1983). This may facilitate the perfor-mance of the inconsistent task component, ATM menu navigation, early inpractice (i.e. before the menu structure is fully learned and beforeperformance is proceduralised). The Action training was designed to beconsistent with proceduralised performance. It directed learners’ attentionto the target button at each system state and instructed them to activate it.Because consistent targets should always be activated regardless of theassigned transaction, the problem-solving behaviour needed to utilise theConcept training is unnecessary and inef�cient. Thus, the Action trainingwas more appropriate for consistent task components both early and latein practice. If Action training imparts some bene�ts of proceduralisation,Action trainees, especially older participants, may also show superiorretention performance (c.f. Mitchell et al., 1990).

We (Mead & Fisk, 1997, 1998) trained older and younger adults tooperate a computer simulation of an ATM that is currently in use. Half ofthe older and younger participants received fact-based Concept training.The remaining participants received procedure-based Action training.After training, participants performed a total of 40 simulated ATMtransactions. To perform the transactions correctly, participants had toselect the correct sequence of ATM menu options. The correct sequencefor a given trial was determined by the assigned transaction for that trial.To complete all 40 assigned transactions, participants were required toselect each menu option more than once.

The effects of episodic memory failure on ATM menu navigation shouldbe similar to those described for the web site navigation and librarydatabase search studies. When participants realised they had selected anincorrect ATM menu option, they pressed a ‘‘Cancel’’ button and startedthe transaction again. To recover successfully from menu navigationerrors, participants should recall the incorrect selection and exclude it fromconsideration when trying again. If older adults have dif�culty remember-ing the sequence of selections made during the most recent attempt tocomplete a transaction, they may be more likely than younger adults to

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choose the same incorrect menu options on subsequent attempts. If our(Mead & Fisk, 1997, 1998) Action training facilitated procedural taskperformance, older Action trainees may repeat menu navigation errors lessfrequently than older Concept trainees.

The participants in this study were 35 older community members aged64 to 80 years and 36 university undergraduates aged 18 to 30 years whoreported using automatic teller machines once a month or less. Theparticipants were trained to operate the ATM simulator used by Rogers etal. (1996b). It is a graphical representation of an ATM that runs underWindows 3.1 on IBM-compatible personal computers. Participants operatethe simulator by using the computer mouse to click screen buttons (toselect ATM menu options) and graphics (to retrieve the ATM card,receipt, and cash).

All participants received 480 trials of computer mouse training beforelearning to operate the ATM simulator. ATM training consisted ofinteractive on-line tutorials and tests (see Mead, 1998 for detaileddescriptions). The Concept tutorial presented factual information abouteach system state and the Concept test consisted of multiple-choice andTrue/False questions. The Action tutorial directed participants to takethe correct action at each system state and the Action test required themto repeat the correct sequence of actions without instruction. TheConcept and Action tests were equated for dif�culty. The tutorials wereequated for amount of text presented and mouse usage requirements.After participants completed the tutorials and tests, the training materialswere removed. Participants then completed four blocks of �ve simulatedATM transactions. They returned following a one-month retentioninterval and completed four more blocks of �ve transactions (a total of40 transactions).

We hypothesised that older adults would demonstrate poorer episodicmemory performance by repeating menu navigation errors (cancelling atransaction and selecting the same incorrect sequence of menu options)more frequently than younger adults. Data from participants who mademenu navigation errors were analysed. The pattern of age differences inrepeated ATM menu navigation errors depended on the type of trainingreceived. Action training was associated with fewer perseverative errorsamong older adults. Older Concept trainees repeated menu navigationerrors [M = 0.40 repeated errors per task, SD = 0.30] more often thanyounger Concept trainees [M = 0.10, SD = 0.23; t(23) = 3.22, P< .01].Older Action trainees (M = 0.07, SD = 0.14) repeated menu navigationerrors less often than older Concept trainees [t(20) = 3.58, P< .01] andyounger Action trainees [M = 0.23, SD = 0.25; t(19) = 2.41, P< .05].Older and younger Action trainees did not differ signi�cantly fromyounger Concept trainees (P = .57 and P = .20, respectively).


It appears that procedure-based training may have helped older adultsovercome performance decrements caused by age-related declines inepisodic memory performance. However, as reported in Mead and Fisk(1997), older Concept trainees showed a slight advantage over old Actiontrainees in overall menu navigation performance and that advantagepersisted over the one-month retention interval. A closer look at the datareveals the reason for this apparent contradiction.

Procedures, as described by Anderson (1983), for ATM menunavigation should include the trained optimal (shortest correct) sequenceof menu item selections. Older Action trainees [M = 58% of transactions,SD = 9.35] were as likely as older Concept trainees [M = 63%, SD = 9.12]to select the optimal sequence of menu items (P = .37). Older Concepttrainees’ superior menu navigation performance resulted from theirsomewhat superior ability to recover successfully from menu navigationerrors. Older Concept trainees successfully recovered from 32%(SD = 12.58) of menu navigation errors, compared to 21% (SD = 7.16)for older Action trainees (P = .07). Thus, although procedure-basedAction training was associated with nearly equivalent menu navigationperformance and with superior performance on the whole task (see Mead& Fisk, 1998) and on consistent ATM transaction components (taking theATM card, receipt, and cash, see Mead & Fisk, 1997), fact-based Concepttraining allowed superior error recovery performance by older adults.

Lastly, consistent with our assertions regarding the ability of theoreticallaboratory-based research to successfully drive application, the superiorretention performance by older Action trainees relative to older Concepttrainees reported by Mead and Fisk (1998) was predicted on the basis ofwork by Mitchell and colleagues (Mitchell, 1989; Mitchell et al., 1990).Their studies employing recognition (episodic task performance) andpriming (procedural task performance) for picture names in a traditionallaboratory setting allowed us to predict age-related patterns of perfor-mance on a computer-based task that closely resembled a real world task(ATM use). The series of experiments discussed here, the ATM, web sitenavigation, and library database search studies, demonstrates how we canuse the �ndings of theoretical laboratory research to predict agedifferences in computerised task performance and to suggest and designtraining interventions.

A FURTHER CONSIDERATION:THEORY-DRIVEN DESIGN INTERVENTIONS

Cognitive ageing researchers interested in making computers moreaccessible to older adults appear to have concentrated their efforts ontraining interventions. The Charness et al. (1996) study is an example of an

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attempt at theory-driven prediction of the appropriateness of a speci�capproach to interface design (providing multiple methods for accessingfunctionality) for older adults. Walker and colleagues (e.g. Worden,Walker, Bharat, & Hudson, 1997) undertook a successful attempt attheory-driven interface design for older adults that greatly improved olderadults’ performance and simultaneously bene�ted younger adults’ perfor-mance.

There is a large body of literature that shows that as people age, theirperformance on movement control tasks gets worse (see Walker, Philbin,& Fisk, 1997 for a review). It should not be surprising that older adults alsohave more dif�culty in using a mouse to position a cursor on a computerscreen (Walker et al., 1997). In general, older adults are capable of cursorpositioning accuracy nearly equal to that of younger adults, if the targetextends more than 3 pixels along the line of movement (Walker, Millians,& Worden, 1996). However, movement times for older adults areconsistently slower than movement times for younger adults (Bennett &Castiello, 1994; Welford, 1981). Given the prevalence of point-and-clickinterfaces and the frequent inclusion of very small (< 3 pixels) screenbuttons and controls, these age-related differences in performance can bemajor impediments to computer use by older adults.

Basic laboratory research isolated three mechanisms for age-relatedincreases in movement times. (1) Older adults are ‘‘error averse’’ and morewilling than younger adults to sacri�ce speed for accuracy (Goggin &Stelmach, 1990). (2) Age-related increases in motor system noise result indisproportionate increases in movement variability for older adults asforce exerted and, therefore, movement speed increases (Welford, 1981) sothat older adults must move more slowly than younger adults to maintainaccuracy. (3) Age-related increases in visual system noise (Cremer & Zeef,1987; Verrillo & Verrillo, 1985) make it harder for older adults to judgewhether or not the cursor is on target.

The speed and accuracy with which a cursor can be positioned dependson the size and distance of the target (Walker, Philbin, & Spruell, 1996).Thus, increasing effective target size should ease older adults’ interactionswith graphical user interfaces. Worden et al. (1997) proposed two interfacemodi�cations that increase effective icon size: (1) Area cursors have largeractivation areas than do standard cursors which allow users to execute lessprecise movements when selecting icons and menu options. This shouldhelp older adults compensate for increased motor and perceptual noiseand may encourage more liberal speed-accuracy trade-offs. (2) Sticky iconsslow the cursor when it approaches an active interface element such as awindow control, menu, or icon. Thus, older adults no longer need to slowtheir movements, the interface will do it for them. Both designinterventions proved highly effective. Older adults’ movement times to


small targets decreased by 50% and younger adults’ performanceimproved by about 20%. Thus, the Worden et al. (1997) study shows thattheory-driven interface design may be challenging, but can be effective inimproving computer usability for older adults. Moreover, an important by-product of attending to age-related issues was the design of an interfacethat also improved younger adults’ performance.

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

In this paper we have provided examples to highlight the opportunitiesavailable to advance both theory and practice within the �eld of cognitionand ageing when conducting practically relevant research (Fisk & Kirlik,1996). We focused our research on ageing, computer use, and training andpresented some previously unpublished analyses of data collected in ourlaboratory. These examples, we believe, support our assertion that appliedresearch aimed at designing training and system interfaces to enhance theperformance of older adults can and should be driven by psychologicaltheory—a view that is shared by other researchers in this area (e.g.Charness et al., 1996; Czaja, 1996; Morrell & Echt, 1996). The datapresented and studies reviewed here clearly demonstrate that theory canhelp us predict age differences in computerised task performance, guidethe development of both training and design interventions for oldercomputer users, and help us explain con�icting �ndings in the literature.

Design guidelines that lack theoretical speci�city are typically quitegeneral and can be hard for designers to apply (but see Chapanis &Budurka, 1990). For example, recommendations for human computerinterface design found in the general human factors literature include:strive for consistency (Schneiderman, 1992); display data in usable forms(Smith & Mosier, 1986); avoid unnecessary details (Tullis, 1988); minimiseambiguity (Vanderheiden, 1997); reduce short-term memory load (Schnei-derman, 1992); and do not overuse colours (Murch, 1987). Within thepresent paper, we made suggestions such as reduce working memorydemands, facilitate proceduralisation, and provide environmental support.However, as Fisher (1993) has expressed, theoretically driven researchrequires us to document fully the advantages of a proposed design ortraining solution. Data are gathered and the necessary experimentalcontrols are introduced that allow us to specify the reasons that a givenalternative is ‘‘best’’ under the speci�ed conditions.

The underlying goal of the class of research we have reviewed and, weargue, should be more vigorously undertaken was summed up eloquentlyby Rabbitt (1992, p.137):

Demographic changes make it vital for designers to become aware of thenature and extent of age changes in physical, sensory, and cognitive abilities.

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The fact that these changes are complex, and interact with each other insubtle ways, make their study intellectually fascinating as well as humanelyuseful. The goal of helping each other to enjoy independence during theextra years that medical and social advances have won for us is surely asrewarding as concentrating on increasing sales and market penetration.Further . . . these goals are entirely compatible.

Rabbitt elegantly points to the fact that the health, safety, and well-being of older adults are the fundamental concerns of theory-drivenapplied research. Business practice is also enhanced to better serve a largerportion of the consumer population. However, this is a by-product of themain goal.

Manuscript received May 1998Revised manuscript received September 1998

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