Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants
The Effect of Colorful and Familiar Cues on Wayfinding in Older Adults
Department
Nursing
College
Kirkhof College of Nursing
Date Range
2010-2011
Disciplines
Nursing
Abstract
Older adults often have problems finding their way (place learning) in unfamiliar environments. We examined the contributions of specific properties of cues (landmarks): color, familiarly, and the number of cues - in place learning in community dwelling older adults. Using a virtual reality program that measures place learning performance, 133 subjects in 3 age groups (55-64, 65-74, and > 75) were asked to find a hidden target. The test required the subjects to learn and remember the location of the hidden platform only using the cues. Subjects were tested in four cue conditions repeatedly over three days. Each cue condition varied with respect to the color and familiarity of the cues. Place learning performance included latency (time it took to find the target) and distance traveled to the target. Other measures were included in the analysis, including age group, cognitive ability, and computer experience. Subjects found the hidden target the fastest (F(3,2922)=13.16, p
Conference Name
Gerontological Society of America
Conference Location
New Orleans, Louisiana
ScholarWorks Citation
Davis, Rebecca, "The Effect of Colorful and Familiar Cues on Wayfinding in Older Adults" (2010). Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants. 180.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg/180
