Effects of individual differences in working memory capacity and pointing methods on single tapping times of older adults

Abstract

The human interface of mobile devices imposes a high cognitive load on older adults when they operate such devices, owing to cognitive ageing. When developing such mobile systems for older adults, we need to consider the cognitive load. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the working memory capacity (WMC) and pointing methods on single tapping times of older adults. Older participants (N = 197) completed single tapping tasks with a touch pen, an index finger, and a mouse. They then completed working memory span tasks to measure their WMC. An analysis on the single tapping time differences between the 60- and 70-year old age groups revealed that single tapping times with a touch pen were shorter than those with an index finger and a mouse. An extreme good-poor analysis of single tapping time differences between low-WMC and high-WMC groups showed that single tapping times with the index finger were shorter than those with a mouse in the low-WMC group, whereas there were no such differences between the index finger and the mouse conditions in the high-WMC group. Structural equation modeling indicated that the working memory processing factor affected the single tapping times with a touch pen and a mouse, whereas the working memory recall factor only affected single tapping times with a mouse. We suggest that the cognitive load imposed by touch interfaces differs according to the WMC of older adults. Therefore, it is important to consider the cognitive load and the individual differences in WMC when developing mobile systems for older adults.