PSYCHOLOGY
Age Brings "Capabilities, Not Limitations"
By Amanda Crowell
COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY that is second nature for those under 20 can be confusing and intimidating for some older adults.
Problems increase when everything from software to World Wide Web pages to computerized library databases is targeted at young adults or children. Too often, product designers either don't understand the needs and limitations of older users or they simply ignore them, say some researchers who study aging.
Studies show older adults are less likely to use
automatic teller machines (ATM), but that many would if banks offered
training such as that offered via this simulator.
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Yet technology can do much to simplify and improve the lives of older adults, who will make up an increasing percentage of the U.S. population in coming years.
"We have a lot of opportunities because of the aging of the American population," says Dr. Arthur D. Fisk, a Georgia Tech psychology professor. "I'm interested in solving important, fundamental problems of cognition and aging, and skill acquisition and aging. It's also important to determine, from a practical perspective, what aspects of system design, product design, training and the activities of daily living we really need to worry about from an age-related perspective."
The country's retirement population, defined as those 65 and older, is currently the largest in history and growing. By 2030, this group is expected to make up 22 percent of the U.S. population -- a predicted 66 million people. The fastest growing subgroup is women over 85.
Some people may worry about the problems posed by an aging population, but Fisk says aging should not be viewed only in terms of deterioration.
"Older individuals do quite well in this world," he notes. "Look at the age of chief executive officers in this country. Look at the age of our very good scientists. Age brings with it an awful lot of capabilities, not limitations."
Fisk conducts much of his work in this area under the Center for Applied Cognitive Research on Aging, a consortium of researchers from Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia (UGA) and the University of Michigan.
It is one of six national Edward R. Roybal Centers for Research on Applied Gerontology, established in 1993 by the National Institute on Aging (see related article, below). Roybal is a retired, longtime member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California who championed aging research.
The centers promote social and behavioral research that can be used to improve the lives of older people and their families. Each has a different theme, such as work performance, social integration, exercise compliance and ways to make nursing home residents more independent.
"The mission of the centers, I think, is a very nice use of taxpayers' dollars," Fisk says. "We must advance science but we must also produce products that the general public can look at and say, 'I can see how that will benefit someone.'"
Although the centers don't repeat each other's work, they overlap enough to establish a body of knowledge, says Dr. Denise C. Park, director of the Center for Applied Cognitive Research on Aging and a University of Michigan psychology professor.
Dr. Jared Jobe, Roybal Centers coordinator for the National Institute on Aging, adds that, "It's important to emphasize that the centers are multi-disciplinary, and they're investigating a wide variety of different things."
In Georgia and Michigan, the focus is on daily activities like driving, taking medications and using computer technology.
Researchers at Georgia Tech and UGA, for example, are studying age-related differences in automatic teller machine (ATM) usage. A 1993 survey of 1,562 adults in Memphis and Atlanta showed that adults 18 to 34 use ATMs far more than those 65 and older -- 86 percent to 33 percent.
Non-users 61 to 81 gave several reasons for avoiding ATMs, including not feeling safe using them, not needing them and not knowing how to use them. Yet nearly 63 percent said they'd use ATMs if someone showed them how.
"When we first started this project, we went to the banks and we asked, 'What kind of training do you give to people when they get an ATM card?' " says Dr. Wendy Rogers, an associate professor of psychology at UGA. "They said, 'Training? What training? It's so easy to use.'"
But studies with older adults who had never used ATMs or received training showed they made correct transactions only 20 percent of the time, says Rogers, who received her master's degree and doctorate from Georgia Tech and is Fisk's wife as well as his research partner.
Researchers now are working to pinpoint which training methods work best, especially for older adults, with the hope that bank officials and ATM designers will use this information to improve service.
Other center projects include:
Georgia Tech researchers are studying how
aging affects driving skills. Research suggests that cognitive,
decision-making abilities remain strong in older adults, particularly in
familiar settings, but that response times are generally slower.
University of Michigan researchers are
monitoring medical adherence among older adults. Surprisingly, they're
finding that older adults are better at taking medications than are
middle-aged adults, especially those who report having extremely busy
lives. "The 60- to 75-year-olds take their medication correctly for
three reasons," says Park, who conducts this research in the University
of Michigan's Institute of Gerontology. "They easily have adequate
cognitive function to figure out what to do with their medications, they
feel vulnerable to health problems and are motivated to take their
medications correctly, and they aren't so busy -- since many are retired
-- and can remember to take the medication on time."
Researchers at Georgia Tech, UGA and
University of Michigan are studying computer usage by older adults, to
improve access, training and design.
Research shows that older adults want to learn to use computers, but most software isn't designed to address their needs. Ongoing projects by Dr. Roger W. Morrell at the University of Michigan include creating an interactive computer disc to teach basic computer skills and setting up an electronic community bulletin board system called ELDERCOM.
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Georgia Tech researchers are testing new software to help older adults overcome decreased fine motor control that makes it difficult for them to use a computer mouse or joystick. They're also working with UGA researchers to solve problems older adults have with computerized library databases and to encourage older adults to use the Internet.
"Internet access can provide older adults, especially those who are homebound, with social interaction, entertainment, information, goods and services," says Sherry Mead, a Georgia Tech doctoral student.
Students like Mead who work in the aging center gain valuable experience in both basic and applied science, Fisk says. Georgia Tech doctoral student Richard Sit agrees.
"I believe that our lab conducts some of the best applied research in the country," says Sit, who worked last summer as a usability specialist for the Microsoft Corp. "Industry is interested in our applied research on a number of real-world systems because we have the time, funding and personnel to perform in-depth research."
This work also is part of Georgia Tech's wider expertise in cognitive aging research, says Dr. Anderson Smith, former director of the School of Psychology. Other psychology faculty members working in this area include Dr. Neff Walker, who also works in the aging center, Dr. Timothy A. Salthouse, Dr. Christopher Hertzog, Dr. Fredda Blanchard-Fields and Dr. Jeffrey Toth.
"I think Tech probably has the best group of cognitive psychologists studying aging in the country," says Smith, who is now a professor of psychology and associate dean of the College of Sciences. "It is critically important research."
Although some people may think studying how older people learn technology is unimportant -- since younger generations will be increasing comfortable with it -- Fisk disagrees.
"The implication is that young people today are going to have no problem with technology in the future," says Fisk, who also serves as president of the national Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. "Technology is advancing at a very, very rapid rate. We have to design technology appropriately from a human perspective, so that humans can interact properly, efficiently and safely with it."
Researchers also should work to tap into the vast experience and wisdom older adults offer, instead of viewing aging only in terms of decline, Park says.
"I think these applied centers are not just about compensation for aging but about growth with aging, such as learning how to use computer technology," she says. "Also, I think it's very important to understand that the character and meaning of technology is going to change very rapidly as the baby boomers age.
"We're about to have an aging population for whom computers have always been a part of their lives," Park adds. "We're still thinking about how to train elderly people to use computers, but it's also important to understand how to adapt technology to the sensory and cognitive capabilities of elderly people who are already technically capable."
Further information is available from Dr. Arthur
D. Fisk, School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta,
GA 30332-0170; or Dr. Wendy Rogers, Department of Psychology, University
of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. (Telephone: 404/894-6066, Fisk;
706/542-3115, Rogers) (E-mail:
arthur.fisk@psych.gatech.edu;
wrogers@uga.cc.uga.edu)
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Last updated: May 30, 1997