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- Sjölinder, Marie, et al.
(author)
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Age differences and the acquisition of spatial knowledge in a three-dimensional environment : Evaluating the use of an overview map as a navigation aid.
- 2005
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In: International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. - : Elsevier BV. - 1071-5819. ; 63, s. 537-564
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study examined age differences in the use of an electronic three-dimensional (3D) environment, and how the age differences were affected by the use of an overview map as a navigation aid. Task performance and the subjects' acquisition of configural knowledge of the 3D-environment were assessed. Impact of spatial ability and prior experience on these measurements were also investigated. One group of older subjects (n = 24) and one group of younger subjects (n = 24) participated. An overall hypothesis for the work presented here was that differences in learning to and performing navigational tasks in the physical world are similar in learning and performing navigational tasks in the virtual world. The results showed that the older participants needed more time to solve the tasks; and similar to navigation in the physical world, the older participants were less likely to create configural knowledge. It could not be established that older participants benefited more from an overview map as cognitive support than younger subjects, except in the subjective sense: the older users felt more secure when the map was there. The map seemed to have supported the older users in creating a feeling of where objects were located within the environment, but it did not make them more efficient. The results have implications for design; in particular, it brings up the difficult issue of balancing design goals such as efficiency in terms of time and functionality, against maintaining a sense of direction and location in navigational situations.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Sjölinder, Marie
(author)
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Age-related cognitive decline and navigation in electronic environments
- 2006
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The older population is increasing, as is life expectancy. Technical devices are becoming more widespread and used for many everyday tasks. Knowledge about new technology is important to remain as an active and independent part of the society. However, if an old user group should have equal access to this technology, new demands will be placed on the design of interfaces and devices. With respect to old users it is and will be important to develop technical devices and interfaces that take the age-related decline in physical and cognitive abilities into account. The aim of this work was to investigate to what extent the age-related cognitive decline affects performance on different computer-related tasks and the use of different interfaces. With respect to the use of computer interfaces, two studies were conducted. In the first study, the information was presented with a hierarchical structure. In the second study the information was presented as a 3D-environment, and it was also investigated how an overview map could support navigation. The third study examined the age-related cognitive decline in the use of a small mobile phone display with a hierarchical information structure. The results from the studies showed that the most pronounced age-related difference was found in the use of the 3D-environment. Within this environment, prior experience was found to have the largest impact on performance. Regarding the hierarchical information structures, prior experience seemed to have a larger impact on performance of easy tasks, while age and cognitive abilities had a larger impact on performance of more complex tasks. With respect to navigation aids, the overview map in the 3D-environment did not reduce the age-differences; however, it contributed to a better perceived orientation and reduced the feeling of being lost.
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| 5. |
- Sjölinder, Marie, et al.
(author)
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The effect of age-related cognitive differences, task complexity and prior Internet experience in the use of an online grocery shop
- 2003. - 1
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In: Spatial Cognition and Computation. - 1387-5868 .- 1573-9252. ; 3:1, s. 61-84
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study examined navigation and search in an on-line grocery store, and how solving those tasks was related to subjects' age, spatial ability, working memory, computer- and Internet experience. Task complexity was also included in the design of the experiment. In the study 48 subjects participated, there was one group of elderly and one group of younger subjects. The results showed that the elderly subjects needed more time to complete the tasks. Both age groups spent more time to find the items in the complex task, but there were also age differences for the complex task, where the elderly subjects spent more time with the complex task. It turned out that age, spatial visualisation ability and working memory had the strongest impact on performance for the complex task. For the easy task, on the other hand, Internet experience had the strongest impact on performance. Though this may seem discouraging to elderly users, it was also the case that the elderly, less experienced, subjects underestimated the time they spent performing the tasks. Thus, even if it took long time to solve the tasks, these elderly users did not experience it as such. Finally, implications for interface design of on-line grocery stores are discussed.
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