1. Adult Age and Cultural Differences in Performance on the Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA)
- Author
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Rachel Kizony, Joan Toglia, Eynat Ben Ari, and Orit Lahav
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Gerontology ,Adolescent ,Culture ,Time allocation ,Adult age ,050105 experimental psychology ,Executive Function ,Young Adult ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Occupational Therapy ,Age groups ,Cultural diversity ,Task Performance and Analysis ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Middle-aged adult ,Israel ,Aged ,05 social sciences ,Age Factors ,Calendars as Topic ,Middle Aged ,United States ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Female ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
OBJECTIVE. We compared performance on a cognitively demanding task, the Weekly Calendar Planning Activity, of participants in three age groups and two countries (United States and Israel). METHOD. A sample of 375 U.S. and 433 Israeli healthy adults participated. During the activity, participants were observed for speed, accuracy, strategy use, and efficiency. RESULTS. Accuracy scores were similar in both countries; however, Israeli participants were slower and less efficient (p < .05). The younger and middle-aged Israeli groups were more strategic and the older Israeli group followed fewer rules than the corresponding U.S. groups (p < .05). Older participants in both countries were less accurate, efficient, and strategic than younger participants (p < .05). CONCLUSION. Limited strategy use and poor time allocation may contribute to difficulty managing cognitively demanding activities for older adults and may also be influenced by culture. Practitioners should consider these factors when screening people for occupational performance difficulties.
- Published
- 2017
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