Vieillissement cognitif et apprentissage de relations probabilistes
Institution:
Paris, EPHEDisciplines:
Directors:
Abstract EN:
A large number of studies have generally shown that intellectual performance of the elderly was poorer than that of younger people. The superior performance of younger people has been chieffy attributed to faster information processing. Reduced working memory capacity is one of the most notable consequences of this slowing. The effect of reduced working memory capacity, due to aging, on ability to learn direct and inverse probabilistic relationships was evaluated using the multiple cue probability learning paradigm with outcome feedback (experiments 1 and 3) and with cognitive (task information) feed-back (experiments 2 and 4). The very elderly (76-90 years old) had major difficulties in modifying their cognitive functioning (inversing the valuation values) as the latter develops sontaneously in a judgment task which includes only pertinent cues. The less elderly (65-75 years old) did not find it as difficult to modify their cognitive functioning and were able to do so if they were given precise indications concerning information processing. Such modification nevertheless seemed possible only through an alteration of the task (counting rather than judging). If they themselves must discover the way in which functioning must be adjusted, they did not appear to be very capable of modifying their functioning. The presence of irrelevant cues affected the performance of older people (65-90 years old) when learning probabilistic relationships, even direct relationships. Elderly had major difficulties in modifying spontaneously their cognitive functioning (inversing the valuation values and discounting) in a judgment task which included irrelevant cues.
Abstract FR:
De tres nombreux travaux ont montre que les performances cognitives des personnes agees etaient inferieures a celles de personnes plus jeunes. La superiorite des performances des personnes plus jeunes a principalement ete attribuee a leur vitesse plus grande de traitement de l'information. L'une des consequences les plus notables du ralentissement progressif du traitement de l'information est la reduction de la capacite de memoire de travail. L'effet de cette reduction sur la capacite a apprendre les relations probabilistes lineaires directes et inverses a ete evaluee en utilisant le paradigme de l'apprentissage probabiliste avec integration de plusieurs indices. Deux conditions d'information ont ete utilisees, l'une avec communication de la valeur exacte du critere a predire (experiences 1 et 3), l'autre avec information complete sur la structure de la tache (experience 2 et 4). Les personnes les plus agees (76-90 ans) ont eu des difficultes majeures a modifier leur fonctionnement cognitif (inversion du processus de valuation) tel que celui-ci se developpe normalement dans une tache de jugement ne comportant que des indices valides. Les personnes moins agees (65-75 ans) se sont montrees capables de modifier leur fonctionnement cognitif a condition que des indications concernant le traitement approprie des informations leur soit fourni. Une telle modification ne s'est averee possible que par une alteration de la tache (comptage plutot que jugement). Lorsque ces personnes devaient decouvrir par elles-memes quel etait le meilleur moyen d'accomplir la tache, elles n'ont pas tres paru capables de modifier leur fonctionnement. Les personnes agees (65-90 ans) ont ete affectees dans l'apprentissage des relations, meme les plus simples (directes), par la presence d'indices non pertinents.