Psychological principles of successful aging technologies: A mini-review

Based on resource-oriented conceptions of successful life-span
development, we propose three principles for evaluating assistive
technology: (a) net resource release; (b) person specificity, and
(c) proximal versus distal frames of evaluation. We discuss how
these general principles can aid the design and evaluation of
assistive technology in adulthood and old age, and propose two
technological strategies, one targeting sensorimotor and the other
cognitive functioning. The sensorimotor strategy aims at releasing
cognitive resources such as attention and working memory by
reducing the cognitive demands of sensory or sensorimotor aspects
of performance. The cognitive strategy attempts to provide adaptive
and individualized cuing structures orienting the individual in
time and space by providing prompts that connect properties of the
environment to the individual's action goals. We argue that
intelligent assistive technology continuously adjusts the balance
between `environmental support' and `self-initiated processing' in
person-specific and aging-sensitive ways, leading to enhanced
allocation of cognitive resources. Furthermore, intelligent
assistive technology may foster the generation of formerly latent
cognitive resources by activating developmental reserves
(plasticity). We conclude that `lifespan technology', if
co-constructed by behavioral scientists, engineers, and aging
individuals, offers great promise for improving both the transition
from middle adulthood to old age and the degree of autonomy in old
age in present and future generations. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger
AG, Basel.