Production de durée chez la personne âgée : comparaison avec le jeune adulte

Résumé En Fr

Summary : Response duration differentiation in elderly people : a comparison with young adults. Two groups of elderly retiree subjects (65-69 years, N = 16 and 70-80 years, N = 14) matched for sex, education and past professional activities were compared with 20-year-olds (N = 22) on a duration production task (button press) with minimal instructions (« press the button »). Response durations lasting for 4 to 6 seconds were followed by the feedback « GOOD » on a computer screen. « MEDIUM » followed presses lasting for 2.5 to 4 and 6 to 7.5. seconds ; « POOR » followed more extreme durations. Subjects were requested to produce as many « GOOD » feedbacks as possible. Each trial was followed by the question « What do you have to do to obtain "GOOD" on the screen ? ». No striking difference could be found between 20- and 65-69-year-olds. However, the 70-80-year-olds produced fewer correct response durations and time-related rules, such as « You must press for x seconds ». An analysis of the evolution of behavior over successive quarters of the 40-trial session further showed that the oldest subjects acquired response timing and discovered the accurate response rule only towards the end of the session significant correlation between the number of correct response durations and timing rules was found for each group The oldest subjects were thus able to emit accurate non-verbal and verbal behavior their overall deficiency resulting from much slower acquisition rate than at 20 or 65-69 years Results were discussed in relationship to timing and problem solving

Des sujets humains de 20, 65-69 et 70-80 ans ont été comparés dans une tâche opérante de production de durée (appui sur un panneau-presselle pendant un temps-cible de 4 à 6 secondes) avec feedback différentiel (BON, MOYEN ou MAUVAIS, selon la durée de l'appui), consigne minimale (Appuyer sur le panneau) et question post-essai (Que faut-il faire pour avoir « BON » ?). Les sujets de 20 et 65-69 ans ont des performances similaires. Ceux de 70-80 ans se caractérisent par une lenteur d'acquisition de la réponse correcte et une découverte tardive de la règle de réponse temporelle. Mots clés : humain, durée de réponse, vieillissement, opérant.