Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Automaticity and Skill in Late Adulthood

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Geropsychology

  • 38 Accesses

Synonyms

Expert; Habitual; Involuntary; Practiced

Definition

Automaticity refers to cognitive processing that requires few mental resources and describes both processes that are innately or spontaneously effortless as well as those that engage fewer resources following practice or training. Skill refers to cognitive processing that has reached a high level of competence and mastery as a result of experience and investment.

Automaticity and Skill in Late Adulthood

This entry will review theoretical perspectives, historical findings, and recent developments in the study of automaticity and skill in older adulthood. This topic is of particular interest for the present volume because automaticity and skill represent a critical dissociation in the study of cognition and cognitive aging. Whereas older adults often show reduced competency in novel and unfamiliar tasks, performance is typically spared for the performance of well-practiced tasks, or tasks that are inherently automatic. This...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 1,699.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 1,799.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ackerman, P. L. (1988). Determinants of individual differences during skill acquisition: Cognitive abilities and information processing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 117(3), 288–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ackerman, P. L. (1992). Predicting individual differences in complex skill acquisition: Dynamics of ability determinants. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77(5), 598–614.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ackerman, P. L., & Beier, M. E. (2006). Determinants of domain knowledge and independent study learning in an adult sample. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(2), 366–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amer, T., & Hasher, L. (2014). Conceptual processing of distractors by older but not younger adults. Psychological Science, 25(12), 2252–2258.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andel, R., KÃ¥reholt, I., Parker, M. G., Thorslund, M., & Gatz, M. (2007). Complexity of primary lifetime occupation and cognition in advanced old age. Journal of Aging and Health, 19(3), 397–415.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, J. R. (1987). Skill acquisition: Compilation of weak-method problem situations. Psychological Review, 94(2), 192–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baltes, P. B., & Baltes, M. M. (1990). Psychological perspectives on successful aging: The model of selective optimization with compensation. In P. B. Baltes, M. M. Baltes, P. B. Baltes, & M. M. Baltes (Eds.), Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences (pp. 1–34). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Beier, M. E., & Ackerman, P. L. (2005). Age, ability, and the role of prior knowledge on the acquisition of new domain knowledge: Promising results in a real-world learning environment. Psychology and Aging, 20(2), 341–355.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bopp, K. L., & Verhaeghen, P. (2005). Aging and verbal memory span: A meta-analysis. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 60B(5), P223–P233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bottiroli, S., Cavallini, E., Dunlosky, J., Vecchi, T., & Hertzog, C. (2013). The importance of training strategy adaptation: A learner-oriented approach for improving older adults’ memory and transfer. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 19(3), 205–218.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen, C. E., Noack, M. G., & Staudinger, U. M. (2011). Aging in the work context. In K. W. Schaie, S. L. Willis, K. W. Schaie, & S. L. Willis (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (7th ed., pp. 263–277). San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Carstensen, L. L. (1995). Evidence for a life-span theory of socioemotional selectivity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4, 151–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charness, N., & Campbell, J. I. (1988). Acquiring skill at mental calculation in adulthood: A task decomposition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 117(2), 115–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chase, W. G., & Simon, H. A. (1973). Perception in chess. Cognitive Psychology, 4(1), 55–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. D., Dunbar, K., & McClelland, J. L. (1990). On the control of automatic processes: A parallel distributed processing account of the Stroop effect. Psychological Review, 97(3), 332–361.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Czaja, S. J., Charness, N., Fisk, A. D., Hertzog, C., Nair, S. N., Rogers, W. A., & Sharit, J. (2006). Factors predicting the use of technology: Findings from the center for research and education on aging and technology enhancement (create). Psychology and Aging, 21(2), 333–352.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, J. L., Johnson, A. M., Dawson, J. D., Uc, E. Y., Anderson, S. W., & Rizzo, M. (2012). Predictors of driving outcomes in advancing age. Psychology and Aging, 27(3), 550–559.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ericsson, K. A., & Chase, W. G. (1982). Exceptional memory. American Scientist, 70(6), 607–615.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ericsson, K. A. (2006). The influence of experience and deliberate practice on the development of superior expert performance. In K. A. Ericsson, N. Charness, P. J. Feltovich, R. R. Hoffman, K. A. Ericsson, N. Charness, … R. R. Hoffman (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance (pp. 683–703). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fisk, A. D., Cooper, B. P., Hertzog, C., Anderson-Garlach, M. M., & Lee, M. D. (1995). Understanding performance and learning in consistent memory search: An age-related perspective. Psychology and Aging, 10(2), 255–268.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fisk, A. D., Cooper, B. P., Hertzog, C., Batsakes, P. J., & Mead, S. E. (1996). Aging and automaticity: Evaluation of instance-based and strength-based mechanisms. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 3(4), 285–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitts, P. M. (1964). Perceptual-motor skill learning. In A. W. Melton (Ed.), Categories of human learning (pp. 243–285). New York: Academic Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Frank, D. J., Touron, D. R., & Hertzog, C. (2013). Age differences in strategy shift: Retrieval avoidance or general shift reluctance? Psychology and Aging, 28(3), 778–788.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fornberg, B., Raymond, W. D., Buck-Gengler, C. J., Healy, A. F., Best, B. J., & Bourne, L. J. (2012). Evaluation and comparison of models of human performance during training. In A. F. Healy, L. J. Bourne, A. F. Healy, & L. J. Bourne (Eds.), Training cognition: Optimizing efficiency, durability, and generalizability (pp. 225–246). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hambrick, D. Z., Salthouse, T. A., & Meinz, E. J. (1999). Predictors of crossword puzzle proficiency and moderators of age-cognition relations. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 128, 131–164.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hambrick, D. Z., Oswald, F. L., Altmann, E. M., Meinz, E. J., Gobet, F., & Campitelli, G. (2014). Deliberate practice: Is that all it takes to become an expert? Intelligence, 45, 34–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartley, A. A., Kieley, J. M., & Slabach, E. H. (1990). Age differences and similarities in the effects of cues and prompts. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 16(3), 523–537.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hasher, L., & Zacks, R. T. (1979). Automatic and effortful processes in memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 108(3), 356–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasher, L., & Zacks, R. T. (1984). Automatic processing of fundamental information: The case of frequency of occurrence. American Psychologist, 39(12), 1372–1388.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hertzog, C., & Hultsch, D. F. (2000). Metacognition in adulthood and old age. In F. M. Craik, T. A. Salthouse, F. M. Craik, & T. A. Salthouse (Eds.), The handbook of aging and cognition (2nd ed., pp. 417–466). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hertzog, C., Cooper, B. P., & Fisk, A. D. (1996). Aging and individual differences in the development of skilled memory search performance. Psychology and Aging, 11(3), 497–520.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hertzog, C., Touron, D. R., & Hines, J. C. (2007). Does a time-monitoring deficit influence older adults’ delayed retrieval shift during skill acquisition? Psychology and aging, 22(3), 607–624.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hertzog, C., & Touron, D. R. (2011). Age differences in memory retrieval shift: Governed by feeling-of-knowing? Psychology and Aging, 26(3), 647–660.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hines, J., Hertzog, C., & Touron, D. (2012). A prelearning manipulation falsifies a pure associational deficit account of retrieval shift during skill acquisition. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 19(4), 449–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard, J. J., & Howard, D. V. (2013). Aging mind and brain: Is implicit learning spared in healthy aging? Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 817.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hultsch, D. F., Hertzog, C., Small, B. J., & Dixon, R. A. (1999). Use it or lose it: Engaged lifestyle as a buffer of cognitive decline in aging? Psychology and Aging, 14(2), 245–263.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jacoby, L. L. (1992). A process dissociation framework: Separating automatic from intentional uses of memory. Journal of Memory and Language, 30, 513–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, L., & Hoyer, W. J. (2000). Instance-based automaticity and aging: Acquisition, reacquisition, and long-term retention. Psychology and Aging, 15(3), 551–565.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, J. M., Dagenbach, D., Engle, C. M., & Funke, L. J. (2007). Age-related changes and the attention network task: An examination of alerting, orienting, and executive function. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 14(4), 353–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. R., & Whiting, W. L. (2013). Detecting subtle expressions: Older adults demonstrate automatic and controlled positive response bias in emotional perception. Psychology and Aging, 28(1), 172–178.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kanfer, R., & Ackerman, P. L. (2004). Aging, adult development, and work motivation. The Academy of Management Review, 29(3), 440–458.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kray, J., & Lindenberger, U. (2000). Adult age differences in task switching. Psychology and Aging, 15(1), 126–147.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kray, J., Li, K. H., & Lindenberger, U. (2002). Age-related changes in task-switching components: The role of task uncertainty. Brain and Cognition, 49(3), 363–381.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lindenberger, U., Kliegl, R., & Baltes, P. B. (1992). Professional expertise does not eliminate age differences in imagery-based memory performance during adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 7(4), 585–593.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lindenberger, U., & Mayr, U. (2014). Cognitive aging: Is there a dark side to environmental support? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18(1), 7–15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, L. L., & Park, D. C. (2004). Aging and medical adherence: The use of automatic processes to achieve effortful things. Psychology and Aging, 19(2), 318–325.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Logan, G. D. (1988). Toward an instance theory of automatization. Psychological Review, 95, 492–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madden, D. J., Whiting, W. L., Cabeza, R., & Huettel, S. A. (2004). Age-related preservation of top-down attentional guidance during visual search. Psychology and Aging, 19, 304–309. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.19.2.304.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Madden, D. J., Whiting, W. L., Spaniol, J., & Bucur, B. (2005). Adult age differences in the implicit and explicit components of top-down attentional guidance during visual search. Psychology and Aging, 20, 317–329. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.20.2.317.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Maquestiaux, F., Laguë-Beauvais, M., Ruthruff, E., Hartley, A., & Bherer, L. (2010). Learning to bypass the central bottleneck: Declining automaticity with advancing age. Psychology and Aging, 25(1), 177–192.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maquestiaux, F., Didierjean, A., Ruthruff, E., Chauvel, G., & Hartley, A. (2013). Lost ability to automatize task performance in old age. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 20(6), 1206–1212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, D. E., & Kieras, D. E. (1999). Précis to a practical unified theory of cognition and action: Some lessons from EPIC computational models of human multiple-task performance. In D. Gopher, A. Koriat, D. Gopher, & A. Koriat (Eds.), Attention and performance XVII: Cognitive regulation of performance: Interaction of theory and application (pp. 17–88). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, D. E., Glass, J. M., Mueller, S. T., Seymour, T. L., & Kieras, D. E. (2001). Executive-process interactive control: A unified computational theory for answering 20 questions (and more) about cognitive ageing. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 13(1–2), 123–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2014). Traffic safety facts. Retrieved from http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812005.pdf

  • Parasuraman, R., & Giambra, L. (1991). Skill development in vigilance: Effects of event rate and age. Psychology and Aging, 6(2), 155–169.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Park, D. C., Lodi-Smith, J., Drew, L., Haber, S., Hebrank, A., Bischof, G. N., & Aamodt, W. (2014). The impact of sustained engagement on cognitive function in older adults: The Synapse Project. Psychological Science, 25(1), 103–112.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ratcliff, R., Spieler, D., & McKoon, G. (2000). Explicitly modeling the effects of aging on response time. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 7(1), 1–25.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ratcliff, R., Thapar, A., & McKoon, G. (2006). Aging, practice, and perceptual tasks: A diffusion model analysis. Psychology and Aging, 21(2), 353–371.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rawson, K. A., & Touron, D. R. (2009). Age differences and similarities in the shift from computation to retrieval during reading comprehension. Psychology and Aging, 24(2), 423–437.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rawson, K. A., & Touron, D. R. (2015). Preservation of memory-based automaticity in reading for older adults. Psychology and Aging, 30(4), 809–823.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Redick, T. S., Shipstead, Z., Harrison, T. L., Hicks, K. L., Fried, D. E., Hambrick, D. Z., & … Engle, R. W. (2013). No evidence of intelligence improvement after working memory training: A randomized, placebo-controlled study. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 142(2), 359–379.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reimers, S., & Maylor, E. A. (2005). Task switching across the life span: Effects of age on general and specific switch costs. Developmental Psychology, 41(4), 661–671.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rickard, T. C. (1997). Bending the power law: A CMPL theory of strategy shifts and the automatization of cognitive skills. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 126(3), 288–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, W. A., Hertzog, C., & Fisk, A. D. (2000). An individual differences analysis of ability and strategy influences: Age-related differences in associative learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 26(2), 359–394.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salthouse, T. A., & Somberg, B. L. (1982). Skilled performance: Effects of adult age and experience on elementary processes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 111(2), 176–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salthouse, T. A. (1996). The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition. Psychological Review, 103(3), 403–428.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salthouse, T. A. (2004). What and when of cognitive aging. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(4), 140–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaie, K. W. (1996). Intellectual development in adulthood: The Seattle longitudinal study. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiffrin, R. M., & Schneider, W. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending and a general theory. Psychological Review, 84(2), 127–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simonton, D. K. (1991). Creative productivity through the adult years. Generations: Journal of the American Society on Aging, 15(2), 13–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spieler, D. H., Mayr, U., & LaGrone, S. (2006). Outsourcing cognitive control to the environment: Adult age differences in the use of task cues. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 13(5), 787–793.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stine-Morrow, E. L., Parisi, J. M., Morrow, D. G., & Park, D. C. (2008). The effects of an engaged lifestyle on cognitive vitality: A field experiment. Psychology and Aging, 23(4), 778–786.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Stine-Morrow, E. L., Payne, B. R., Roberts, B. W., Kramer, A. F., Morrow, D. G., Payne, L., & Parisi, J. M. (2014). Training versus engagement as paths to cognitive enrichment with aging. Psychology and Aging, 29(4), 891–906.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Touron, D. R., & Hertzog, C. (2004). Distinguishing age differences in knowledge, strategy use, and confidence during strategic skill acquisition. Psychology and Aging, 19(3), 452–466.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Touron, D. R., & Hertzog, C. (2004). Strategy shift affordance and strategy choice in young and older adults. Memory & Cognition, 32(2), 298–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Touron, D. R., Swaim, E. T., & Hertzog, C. (2007). Moderation of older adults’ retrieval reluctance through task instructions and monetary incentives. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 62B(3), P149–P155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Touron, D. R., & Hertzog, C. (2009). Age differences in strategic behavior during a computation-based skill acquisition task. Psychology and Aging, 24(3), 574–585.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Touron, D. R., & Hertzog, C. (2014). Accuracy and speed feedback: Global and local effects on strategy use. Experimental Aging Research, 40(3), 332–356.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Touron, D. R. (2015). Memory avoidance by older adults: When ‘old dogs’ won’t perform their ‘new tricks’. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(3), 170–176.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Verhaeghen, P., Marcoen, A., & Goossens, L. (1992). Improving memory performance in the aged through mnemonic training: A meta-analytic study. Psychology and Aging, 7(2), 242–251.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Verhaeghen, P., & De Meersman, L. (1998). Aging and the Stroop effect: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 13(1), 120–126.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • West, R. L., Bagwell, D. K., & Dark-Freudeman, A. (2008). Self-efficacy and memory aging: The impact of a memory intervention based on self-efficacy. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 15(3), 302–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willis, S. L., & Nesselroade, C. S. (1990). Long-term effects of fluid ability training in old-old age. Developmental Psychology, 26(6), 905–910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willis, S. L., Tennstedt, S. L., Marsiske, M., Ball, K., Elias, J., Koepke, K. M., & … Wright, E. (2006). Long-term effects of cognitive training on everyday functional outcomes in older adults. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 296(23), 2805–2814.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolinsky, F. D., Unverzagt, F. W., Smith, D. M., Jones, R., Wright, E., & Tennstedt, S. L. (2006). The effects of the ACTIVE cognitive training trial on clinically relevant declines in health-related quality of life. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 61B(5), S281–S287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolinsky, F. D., Mahncke, H. W., Vander Weg, M. W., Martin, R., Unverzagt, F. W., Ball, K. K., & Tennstedt, S. L. (2009). The ACTIVE cognitive training interventions and the onset of and recovery from suspected clinical depression. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 64B(5), 577–585.

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wolinsky, F. D., Weg, M. V., Howren, M. B., Jones, M. P., & Dotson, M. M. (2015). The effect of cognitive speed of processing training on the development of additional IADL difficulties and the reduction of depressive symptoms: Results from the IHAMS randomized controlled trial. Journal of Aging and Health, 27(2), 334–354.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yonelinas, A. P. (2002). The nature of recollection and familiarity: A review of 30 years of research. Journal of Memory and Language, 46(3), 441–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Dayna R. Touron

Authors
  1. Dayna R. Touron
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dayna R. Touron .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Nancy A. Pachana

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this entry

Cite this entry

Touron, D.R. (2017). Automaticity and Skill in Late Adulthood. In: Pachana, N.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geropsychology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-082-7_210

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation