Influences of Age and Training on Script Development

Abstract

This investigation provides a test of the developmental script hypothesis proposed by Hershey, Walsh, Read, and Chulef (1990). It is hypothesized that in complex problem solving situations, increases in task-specific experience lead to an increase in information selection and search consistency. Specific goals of the present study were to examine how age and domain-specific knowledge acquired through training influence search processes. Fifty-seven participants, aged 16-80, individually solved a series of six financial investment problems. For virtually all individuals, the selection of a set of common task information increased over consecutive trials. Furthermore, over the six trial sequence a majority of individuals developed a consistent search pattern. The only participants who failed to display sequential processing consistency were untrained older adults. The discussion focuses on how age-related differences in processing resources, prior experience, and knowledge of the task may have been responsible for the observed effects.

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