Timing in Aging: The Role of Attention

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Abstract
This paper questions the issue of attentional capacity in changes in time processing with aging . Performances of young and old subjects were compared in a task involving an attentional sharing between three con current estimations of durations ( 6 , 8 , or 10 s ). Depending upon the experimental condition , the subjects were instructed to simultaneously focus their attention onto one , two , or three target stimuli . The results showed that increased difficulty of the task , that is the increased number of concurrent temporal targets to monitor at a time , led to a greater disruption of timing performance in elderly people than in young adults . Temporal judgments of elderly were less accurate and more variable than those of young adults in the attentional sharing conditions ( two or three target durations ). The greater sensitivity to interference effects observed in the elderly is discussed in terms of age - related reduction of attentional resources and working - memory deficits .

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