Does Reaction Time Decrease with Age?

Does Reaction Time Decrease with Age?

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Does Reaction Time Decrease with Age?

Evidently, it is clear that reaction time decreases with age. Based on the study carried out, there is a positive correspondence between both of these factors, in which age seems to increase as much as the average reaction time. From this test, the study discovered that the reaction time amplified with the age. Significant increases were particularly evident after the age of 30 in relation to the differences within TR correlation to age performed by Greene (2009). Hence, such findings reflect the information provided within the literature review. Indeed, past research proposes the evidence of a considerable correlation between reaction time and age. Moreover, the findings dispel conceptions regarding the exact age that cognitive performance decreases, with some studies establishing it at 24 years (Shimoyama et al., 2012; Thompson, Blair & Henrey, 2014). Interestingly, the fact based on the study’s results, that reaction time decreases as age increases is supported considerably by past literature. In the studies conducted by Fujiyama, Tandonnet and Summers (2011), younger adults between 18 and 34 displayed substantially rapid reaction times while compared to adults between 62 and 74 years. Tun and Lachman (2008) also exude similar findings, which depicted faster reaction times among young participants. Overall, certain shortcomings were evident especially with respect to study design. The methodology, which included a demographics questionnaire, assessed participants by dividing them into two groups comprising persons less than or equal to 30 years and individuals who were 31 years and older respectively. However, it was rather difficult to determine disparities within age and reaction time between both groups due to the proximity of their age differentials. To this end, the study provides further considerations that may be imperative in future research. Such considerations focus on the insignificant amount of research carried out in studying reaction time especially after the age of 30. Hence, it is necessary to close such research gaps in order to convey the much-needed knowledge required in psychology.

References:

Fujiyama, H., Tandonnet, C., & Summers, J. (2011). Age-related differences in corticospinal excitability during a go/nogo task. Psychophysiology, 48, 1448-1455. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01201.x

Greene, J., & D’Oliveira, M. (2006). Learning to use statistical tests in psychology. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.

Shimoyama, I., Yoshida, A., Yugeta, T., Saeki, K., Hayashi, F., Yoshizaki, H., & Shimizu, R. (2012). Cognitive reaction time and aging. International Medical Journal, 19(1), 42-44. doi:10.100104/7001-001. 19.1. 42

Thompson, J. J., Blair, M. R., & Henrey, A. J. (2014). Over the hill at 24: Persistent age-related cognitive motor decline in reaction times in an ecologically valid video game task begins in early adulthood. PLoS ONE, 9(4): e94215. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094215

Tun, P. A., & Lachman, M. E. (2008). Age differences in reaction time and attention in a national telephone sample of adults: Education, sex, and task complexity matter. Developmental Psychology, 44(5), 1421.