Anne Collins McLaughlin

Older Adults, Computer Training, and the Systems Approach: A Formula for Success.

Adults over the age of 65 are the fastest growing segment of computer users. Due to this increased demand, effective training programs are essential. Although previous research findings illustrate the importance of older adults’ goals, abilities, and experience levels in learning to use computers, these factors are often neglected in the development of computer training courses. We apply a systems approach to help bridge this gap between research and practice to address the disparity between what older adults would like to learn and the content of computer training courses. We review the literature on training older adults to use computers and report data from a set of structured interviews to illustrate the criticality of each step in the systems approach. Lastly, we provide the means to evaluate existing computer training programs and suggest modifications for improvement. Our purpose is not to evaluate specific programs, but to educate developers about an approach that has proven successful. Specifically, we provide suggestions for effective computer training for older adults.

Touch a Screen or Turn a Knob: Choosing the Best Device for the Job

Input devices enable users to interact with systems. In two experiments, we assessed whether and how task demands and user age influenced task performance for a direct input device (touch screen) and an indirect input device (rotary encoder). In Experiment 1, 40 younger (18-28 years) and 40 middle-aged to older adults(51--65 years) performed tasks using controls such as sliders, up/down buttons, list boxes, and text boxes while using a system. The optimal input device to facilitate performance was dependent on the task being performed and the age of the user. In Experiment 2, touch screen use was assessed for 20 younger (19--23 years) and 20 older adults (51--70 years). Task demands were manipulated through button size, movement distance, direction, and type of movement. Performance was moderated by the age of the user and by task demands. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidance for the optimal selection of input devices for different user populations and task characteristics.

Designing displays for older adults

Introduction What Do Older Adults Want from Technology? What Do They do with Technology? Stereotypes of Older Users Universal Design What is a Display? Goals for the Book Accessibility Guidelines Overview of the Book Suggested Readings Vision How Vision Changes with Age Interim Summary Display Technologies In Practice: Presenting Information on the Web General Design Guidelines Suggested Readings Hearing How Hearing Changes With Age Interim Summary Accessibility Aids Interim Summary Human Language Interim Summary Designing Audio Displays In Practice: The Auditory Interface General Design Guidelines Suggested Readings Cognition How Cognition Changes With Age In Practice: Organization of Information General Design Guidelines Suggested Readings Movement How Movement Changes with Age Interim Summary Movement Disorders Accessibility Aids for Movement Control Interim Summary In Practice: Movement on a Display General Design Guidelines Suggested Readings Older Adults in the User-Centered Design Process How Testing Older Users is Different Requirements Gathering Evaluation/Inspection Designing/Prototyping/Implementing Alternate Designs Recruiting Summary Suggested Readings Preface to Usability Evaluations and Redesigns Organization of the Redesign Chapters Displays Chosen for Evaluation and Redesign Integrative Example: Mobile Phone Perceptual Concerns Cognitive Usability Assessment Specific Design Changes/ Summary Suggested Readings and References Integrative Example: Set Top Box Cognitive Concerns Perceptual Concerns Usability Assessment Specific Design Changes/Recommendations Summary Suggested Readings Integrative Example: Home Medical Device Cognitive Concerns Perceptual Concerns Movement Control and Input Usability Assessment Specific Design Changes/Recommendations Summary Suggested Readings Integrative Example: Automobile Displays Cognitive Concerns Perceptual Concerns Guidelines Movement Control and Input Devices Usability Assessment Specific Design Changes/Recommendations Summary Suggested Readings Conclusion Themes Important Future Goals Concluding Remarks

Successful aging through digital games: Socioemotional differences between older adult gamers and Non-gamers

The purpose of this investigation was to examine differences in psychological functioning (e.g., well-being, affect, depression, and social functioning) between older adults who play digital games compared to those older adults that do not play digital games. Analysis was conducted on a sample of 140 independently living older adults with an average age of 77.47years (SD=7.31). Participants were divided into three groups (Regular, Occasional Gamers, and Non-gamers) - 60% of the sample was either a Regular or Occasional Gamer. Differences among the groups were found for well-being, negative affect, social functioning, and depression with Regular and Occasional Gamers performing better, on average, than Non-gaming older adults. Findings suggest that playing may serve as a positive activity associated with successful aging.

Individual differences in response to cognitive training: Using a multi-modal, attentionally demanding game-based intervention for older adults

The effectiveness of a game-based cognitive training intervention on multiple abilities was assessed in a sample of 39 older adults aged 60-77. The intervention task was chosen based on a cognitive task analysis designed to determine the attentional and multi-modal demands of the game. Improvements on a measure of attention were found for the intervention group compared to controls. Furthermore, for the intervention group only, initial ability scores predicted improvements on both tests of attention and spatial orientation. These results suggest cognitive training may be more effective for those initially lower in ability.

Using direct and indirect input devices: Attention demands and age-related differences

Researchers have suggested that attention is a key moderating variable predicting performance with an input device [Greenstein and Arnaut 1988], although the attention demands of devices have not been directly investigated. We hypothesized that the attentional demands of input devices are intricately linked to whether the device matches the input requirements of the on-screen task. Further, matching task and device should be more important for attentionally reduced groups, such as older adults. Younger and older adults used either a direct (touch screen) or indirect (rotary encoder) input device to perform matched or mismatched input tasks under a spectrum of attention allocation conditions. Input devices required attention—more so for older adults, especially in a mismatch situation. In addition, task performance was influenced by the match between task demands and input device characteristics. Though both groups benefited from a match between input device and task input requirements, older adults benefited more, and this benefit increased as less attention was available. We offer an a priori method to choose an input device for a task by considering the overlap between device attributes and input requirements. This data should affect design decisions concerning input device selection across age groups and task contexts.

Putting Fun into Video Games for Older Adults

Our observations of players older than 65 suggested that they weighed costs and benefits when deciding whether or not to play video games. Current games can be higher in cost for seniors because of the perceptual and cognitive changes that tend to occur with age. When seniors choose to invest effort in overcoming those costs, it is often because they perceive a high benefit. Creating successful games for seniors will likely require designers to increase the perceived benefits of games, such as engagement, even more than lowering costs such as frustration, time, and money.

Experiences with an AR evaluation test bed: Presence, performance, and physiological measurement

This paper discusses an experiment carried out in an AR test bed called “the pit”. Inspired by the well-known VR acrophobia study of Meehan et al. [18], the experimental goals were to explore whether VR presence instruments were useful in AR (and to modify them where appropriate), to compare additional measures to these well-researched techniques, and to determine if findings from VR evaluations can be transferred to AR. An experimental protocol appropriate for AR was developed. The initial experimental findings concern varying immersion factors (frame rate) and their effect on feelings of presence, user performance and behavior. Unlike the VR study, which found differing frame rates to affect presence measures, there were few differences in the five frame rate modes in our study as measured by the qualitative and quantitative instruments, which included physiological responses, a custom presence questionnaire, task performance, and user behavior. The AR presence questionnaire indicated users experienced a high feeling of presence in all frame rate modes. Behavior, performance, and interview results indicated the participants felt anxiety in the pit environment. However, the physiological data did not reflect this anxiety due to factors of user experience and experiment design. Efforts to develop a useful AR test bed and to identify results from a large data set has produced a body of knowledge related to AR evaluation that can inform others seeking to create AR experiments.

Self-reported reasons for hand hygiene in 3 groups of health care workers

BACKGROUND The hands of health care workers continue to be the main vector for nosocomial infection in hospitals. The purpose of the current research was to capture the health beliefs and self-reported behaviors of US health care workers to better understand why workers avoid hand hygiene and what prompts them to wash. METHODS An online survey of health care workers assessed their reasons for washing their hands, reasons for not washing, and what cues prompted the decision to wash or not wash in a variety of locations. RESULTS The findings were that hand hygiene could be cued by an external situation but tended to be motivated internally. Hand hygiene was avoided because of situational barriers. CONCLUSION The reasons for performing hand hygiene can be situated in the internally motivated Theory of Planned Behavior; however, the reasons for not performing hand hygiene tend to be situational and affected by the environment. The results may be used to design programs, products, and systems that promote appropriate hand hygiene practices. Principles for design of these programs and products are provided.

Individual Differences in the Benefits of Feedback for Learning

Objective: Research on learning from feedback has produced ambiguous guidelines for feedback design—some have advocated minimal feedback, whereas others have recommended more extensive feedback that highly supported performance. The objective of the current study was to investigate how individual differences in cognitive resources may predict feedback requirements and resolve previous conflicted findings. Method: Cognitive resources were controlled for by comparing samples from populations with known differences, older and younger adults. To control for task demands, a simple rule-based learning task was created in which participants learned to identify fake Windows pop-ups. Pop-ups were divided into two categories—those that required fluid ability to identify and those that could be identified using crystallized intelligence. Results: In general, results showed participants given higher feedback learned more. However, when analyzed by type of task demand, younger adults performed comparably with both levels of feedback for both cues whereas older adults benefited from increased feedback for fluid ability cues but from decreased feedback for crystallized ability cues. Conclusion: One explanation for the current findings is feedback requirements are connected to the cognitive abilities of the learner—those with higher abilities for the type of demands imposed by the task are likely to benefit from reduced feedback. Application: We suggest the following considerations for feedback design: Incorporate learner characteristics and task demands when designing learning support via feedback.