Abstract
This study investigated age differences in the performance
of a computer data entry task and the extent to which these
differences were maintained with task experience. The study also
identified abilities important to task performance. One hundred and
ten participants from 3 age groups, younger (20-39 years), middle-aged (40-59 years), and older (60-75 years), performed the task for 3 days. Performance measures included a
measure of quantity of work and measures of errors. The results
indicated that the older people completed significantly less work
than the middle-aged and younger people across all 3 days of the
task. However, when controlling for differences in quantity of work, there were no age differences in errors. The data also indicated
that visuomotor skills and memory were significant predictors of
quantity and quality of work.
