Older adults do relatively more poorly than younger adults on conjunction vs. simple search tasks, because conjunction tasks rely on ____________ processing.

Question

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Conjunction search requires serial processing, meaning that attention has to be shifted from one object to another until the target object is found. This type of processing becomes more difficult with age, leading to poorer performance on conjunction tasks. Parallel processing (A) and automatic processing (B) are not required for conjunction search. Pop-out processing (D) is a type of parallel processing that occurs when a target stands out from the distractors and is quickly detected regardless of search type, but it is not relevant to the question asked.

Older Adults Do Relatively More Poorly Than Younger Adults on Conjunction