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Capture of Attention by New Motion in Young and Older Adults

¹ Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri.
² Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles.
³ Department of Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.

Address correspondence to Shawn E. Christ, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 210 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO 65211. E-mail: christse{at}missouri.edu

Recent research has shown that newly introduced motion in a scene captures attention in young adults. Prior research has been mixed in terms of possible age-related differences in the allocation of visual attention, and it remains unclear whether new motion has a similar influence on visual attention in older adults. In the present study, we directly compared the capture of attention by new motion in young and older adults. The results suggest that new motion has a similar influence on visual attention in older adults as compared with young adults and that the mechanisms underlying attentional capture by motion are preserved with adult aging. We discuss the findings within the context of our present understanding of visual attention and aging.

Key Words: Attentional capture • New motion • Visual attention