Variations Stratégiques et Vieillissement

Patrick LEMAIRE

Master 1 – EAV

Novembre 2010

Age-related changes incognitive performance

AGE

PE

RF

OR

MA

NC

E

Negative

Zero

Positive

What are the underlying mechanisms?

- Quantitative Factors (Proc. Speed, WM, Inhibit°)

- Qualitative Factors (e.g., Cognitive Strategies)

Cognitive Strategy : Definition

• « Procedure or set of procedures to accomplish a high-level goal » (Lemaire & Reder, Mem&Cog, 1999, p. 365)

• « Set of methods to accomplish a cognitive task » (Newell & Simon, GPS-book,1972, p. 127)

STRATEGIC VARIATIONS AND COGNITIVE AGING

No Strat. Variations-------------------------------

MemoryGlynn et al.,83; Rankin et al.,84; Rice & Meyer, 85; Wodd & Pratt, 87; Parkinson et al., 82; Hertzog & Dunlosky, 98

LanguageCohen & Faulkner, 83; Stine, 96

Problem solv. Reason., and Decision Making

Salthouse & Prill, 87; Salthouse, 87; Salthouse et al., 90;

Lemaire & Arnaud, 2008

Strategic Variations ------------------------------

MemoryCimbalo & Brink, 82; Thomas, 85; Sanders et al., 80; Verhaeghen & Marcoen, 94

LanguageAdams et al., 90; Reder et al., 86

Problem solv. Reason., and Decision Making

Charness, 81, 82; Salthouse et al., 88; Lemaire et al., 2004; Mata et al., 2007

STRATEGIC VARIATIONS AND COGNITIVE AGING:

Limits of previous works

No appropriate conceptual framework

----------------------------

What are the right questions?

No appropriate methodological

approach

-----------------------------

How to best investigate strategic variations?

Aspects of Strategic Changes

Changes

SelectionExecution

Lemaire & Siegler, 95, JEP:Gen.

Repertoire Distribution

Age-related differences in Strategy Repertoire

Do young and older adults use the same strategies to accomplish cognitive tasks?

Strategy identification methods

Direct approach

Indirect approach

Direct approach: Principle

Collecting as many external behavioral

evidence (verbal reports, video-recordings, direct observ°) of strategies as possible

Direct approach: Example of arithmetic

16 - 7 12 - 9 / 4 - 3

Arnaud & Lemaire, 2008 (Cortex)

Finger Counting Direct Retrieval

Two-digit addition problem solving: Use of 9 strategies

StrategiesExample (12+46)

1 - Rounding the first operand down (10 + 46) + 2

2 - Rounding the second operand down (12 + 40) + 6

3 - Rounding both operands down (10 + 40) + (2 + 6)

4 - Columnar retrieval (2 + 6) + (10 + 40)

5 - Rounding the first operand up (20 + 46) - 8

6 - Rounding the second operand up (12 + 50) - 4

7 - Rounding both operands up (20 + 50) - 8 - 4

8 - Borrowing units 18 + 40

9 - Retrieving 58

Lemaire & Arnaud, 2008 (AJP)

Effect of Age on Number of Strat.

3,2

5,5

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Young OlderMea

n N

um

ber

of

Str

ateg

ies/

Ind

ivid

ual

*

Lemaire & Arnaud, 2008 (AJP)

Indirect approach: Principle

« The use of multiple strategies is inferred from the patterns of speed and accuracy that arise as a function of the factors that define the stimulus set »

(Lemaire & Reder, 1997, p. 365)

Indirect Approach: Example 1

8x5 < 41 vs. 8x5< 47

RT differences -> Strategy Differences

1300

1500

1700

1900

2100

8x5<41 8x5<47

Ver

ifica

tion

times

(in

ms)

Duverne & Lemaire, 2004 (JoG:PS)

Exhaustive verification Approximate verification

Age x Problem

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Young Older

Ver

ific

atio

n T

imes

(in

ms)

8x5<41

8x5<47*

Duverne & Lemaire, 2004 (JoG:PS)

ERP Data

Young Older Fixation First Second operand

Small Large

Second operand

El Yagoubi, Lemaire, & Besson, 2005 (JoCN)

215 ms

Aspects of Strategic Changes

Changes

Lemaire & Siegler, 95 (JEP:Gen).

Repertoire Distribution

Age and Strategy Distribution

Marseille 2

How many dots?

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

Small Large

% d

ev

iati

on

YoungOlder

Numerosity estimation performance

Lemaire & Lecacheur, 2007 (JoG:PS)

Numerosity estimation: Eye movements in instructed condition

Benchmark

Gandini, Lemaire, & Dufau (2009)

Anchoring

Age effects on % use of Benchmark

68

46

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Young Older

% u

se o

f P

E

Gandini, Lemaire, & Dufau (2009)

Aspects of Strategic Changes

Changes

Execution

Lemaire & Siegler, 95, JEP:Gen.

Repertoire Distribution

Age effects on Strategy Execution: Numerosity Estimation

Benchmark

vs.

Anchoring

CHOICE NO-CHOICE

Benchmark

Anchoring

Gandini, Lemaire, & Dufau (2008)

Age x Strategies (no-choice latencies)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

Perceptual Estimation Anchoring

So

luti

on

Lat

enci

es (

in m

s)

Young

Older

Gandini, Lemaire, & Dufau (2009)

Etude en imagerie

Activations cérébralesMachine IRMf

Benchmark Strategy in Young Adults

L R

InsulaPostcentral Gyrus

Benchmark strategy

PostcentralGyrus

Retrievaing Memory

representations of numerosities

Insulaselection of one of the potential

candidates

Numerical comparison

tasks

e.g., Chochon, Cohen, van de Moortele, & Dehaene, 1999; Dehaene, 1996

Phonological loop/articulatory

processes

e.g., Paulesu, et al., 1993; Venkatram, et al., 2005

Benchmark strategy in Older Adults

L R

Postcentral Gyrus

Precentral Gyrus

Inferior Parietal Lobule

- Middle Gyrus- Lingual Gyrus

Occipital Areas:

Insula

Anchoring strategy in Young Adults

L R

Occipital Areas:

- Middle Gyrus

- Cuneus

Frontal Areas:- DLPFC

- Superior Gyrus

Parietal Areas: - Superior lobule

- Precuneus

Anchoring strategy

Occipito-Parietal Axis

Matching reference group of dots and remaining groups

of dots

Enumerating reference group

of dots

PrecuneusMmultiplying N groups of dots

Frontal areasEnumeration

processes

e.g., Piazza, Mechelli, Butterworth, & Price, 2002; Piazza, Giacomini, et al., 2003

Mental imagery

e.g., Awh & Jonides, 2001; Mellet et al., 2000; Zago & Tzourio-Mazoyer, 2002

Simple calculation

e.g., Zago & Tzourio-Mazoyer, 2001

Anchoring strategy in Older Adults

L R

Frontal Area:- SMA

Frontal Area:- SMA

Middle Occipital Gyrus

Inferior Frontal Gyrus

Parietal Superior Lobule

Aspects of Strategic Changes

Changes

SelectionExecution

Lemaire & Siegler, 95, JEP:Gen.

Repertoire Distribution

Strategy selection

46 x 52

(2392)

Rounding-up Rounding-Down50x60 40x50

Lemaire et al., 2004 (Psych. Aging)

RU probl: 57x68RD probl: 51x62

Selecting the best strategy

67

52

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Young Older

% u

se o

f bes

t str

ateg

y

*

Lemaire et al., 2004 (Psych. Aging)

Summary

Changes

SelectionExecution

Lemaire & Siegler, 95, JEP:Gen.

Repertoire Distribution

Conclusions• Strategy perspective offers a great window to understand

cognitive aging. It is not incompatible with more quantitative approaches of cognitive aging.

• It helps to better describe and explain (in mechanistic terms) age-related differences and similarities

• It helps to address both big, general questions and very specific issues.

• It enables to know how people of different ages think and how (some) older adults can compensate to moderate aging effects on cognition.