Walter R Boot
Biographic Data
| ID | 97648 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Walter R Boot |
| GIVEN NAMES | Walter R |
| FAMILY NAME | Boot |
| SIGNATURE | BOOT W R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Florida State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1047-5467 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Enhancing mobility of cognitively impaired older adults
As transportation becomes increasingly technology-dependent, older adults with cognitive impairment face significant barriers to maintaining mobility independence. This study aimed to enhance the mobility and independence of older adults with cognitive impairment through the design and iterative usability testing of online tutorials for mainstream transportation applications – Google Maps and Uber. Grounded in the cognitive theory of multimedia l…
Applying aspects of deliberate practice to help low performers improve manual control in a complex task
Investigations of expert performers across many domains have suggested the accumulation of deliberate practice over many years is a key component of developing expertise. Researchers propose deliberate practice is effective for improving performance in the long term because it includes several structured elements that facilitate learning. However, the effects of such structured practice across shorter training periods are less understood. The cur…
Investigating the behavioral mechanisms of action video game effects in a complex transfer task
Over the past few decades, researchers have argued that playing action video games can substantially improve cognitive abilities and enhance learning. However, consensus has not been reached regarding the mechanisms through which action game experience facilitates superior performance on untrained perceptually and cognitively demanding transfer tasks. We argue that analysis of behaviors engaged in during transfer task performance may provide key …
Older adults and video gaming for leisure
Background Video games are often designed by younger adults for younger adults. When older adults are considered targets of game design, the focus is often not on leisure, but rehabilitation (e.g., cognitive training, stroke recovery, physical therapy). Commercial video games, if they are aimed toward older adult consumers at all, are typically marketed based on older adults' concerns about cognitive decline. Although there have been extensive in…
Designing for Older Adults
Winner of the 2019 Richard M. Kalish Innovative Publication Book Award 2019 – Gerontological Society of America This new edition provides easily accessible and usable guidelines for practitioners in the design community for older adults. It includes an updated overview of the demographic characteristics of older adult populations and the scientific knowledge base of the aging process relevant to design. New chapters include Existing and Emerging …
Technology Adoption by Older Adults
Background and Objectives: There is growing evidence of the benefits of computers for older adults. Yet, adoption rates are lower compared with younger adults. Extant theoretical models of technology acceptance are limited in their application to older adults-studies on which these models are based included a limited sample of older adults or none at all; none assessed use of a technology specifically designed for older adults; and most only meas…
Designing for Older Adults
Introduction and conceptual framework
Improving Social Support for Older Adults Through Technology
Objectives: Information and communication technology holds promise in terms of providing support and reducing isolation among older adults. We evaluated the impact of a specially designed computer system for older adults, the Personal Reminder Information and Social Management (PRISM) system. Design, Setting, and Participants: The trial was a multisite randomized field trial conducted at 3 sites. PRISM was compared to a Binder condition wherein p…
Depressive Symptoms as a Predictor of Memory Complaints in the PRISM Sample
Our results suggest that memory complaints about frequency of forgetting can be the most reliable indicator of depression risk among the four factors in the MFQ. We discuss theoretical implications for longitudinal relationships between memory complaints, depressive symptoms, and cognitive function in older adults
Do “Brain-Training” Programs Work?
In 2014, two groups of scientists published open letters on the efficacy of brain-training interventions, or “brain games,” for improving cognition. The first letter, a consensus statement from an international group of more than 70 scientists, claimed that brain games do not provide a scientifically grounded way to improve cognitive functioning or to stave off cognitive decline. Several months later, an international group of 133 scientists and …
Older Adult Video Game Preferences in Practice
Recent meta-analyses on video game interventions with the aim to improve cognition have shown promise for both younger and older adults. Most studies suggest that fast-paced action games produce the largest benefits, but previous work has shown that older adults might not necessarily adhere to interventions using action games. To increase intervention adherence, we investigated older adult video game preferences that might bolster adherence by ha…
Using Mechanical Turk to Assess the Effects of Age and Spatial Proximity on Inattentional Blindness
Few studies have used online data collection to study cognitive aging. We used a large (N = 515) online sample to replicate the findings that inattentional blindness increases with age and with the distance of the unexpected object from the focus of attention. Critically, we assessed whether distance moderates the relationship between age and noticing. We replicated both age and distance effects, but found no age by distance interaction. These fi…
The Pervasive Problem With Placebos in Psychology
To draw causal conclusions about the efficacy of a psychological intervention, researchers must compare the treatment condition with a control group that accounts for improvements caused by factors other than the treatment. Using an active control helps to control for the possibility that improvement by the experimental group resulted from a placebo effect. Although active control groups are superior to “no-contact” controls, only when the active…
Aging and Information Technology Use
Why are older adults reluctant to adopt new technology, such as the Internet, given its potential to improve the quality of their lives? We review evidence indicating that attitudes and abilities are among the most powerful predictors of technology use. We conclude that normative age-related changes in ability must be taken into account when designing products and training programs for aging adults, and we discuss new tools to support designers. …
The effects of video game playing on attention, memory, and executive control
Depressive Symptoms as a Predictor of Memory Complaints in the PRISM Sample
Our results suggest that memory complaints about frequency of forgetting can be the most reliable indicator of depression risk among the four factors in the MFQ. We discuss theoretical implications for longitudinal relationships between memory complaints, depressive symptoms, and cognitive function in older adults
Older Adult Video Game Preferences in Practice
Recent meta-analyses on video game interventions with the aim to improve cognition have shown promise for both younger and older adults. Most studies suggest that fast-paced action games produce the largest benefits, but previous work has shown that older adults might not necessarily adhere to interventions using action games. To increase intervention adherence, we investigated older adult video game preferences that might bolster adherence by ha…
The effects of video game playing on attention, memory, and executive control
Aging and Information Technology Use
Why are older adults reluctant to adopt new technology, such as the Internet, given its potential to improve the quality of their lives? We review evidence indicating that attitudes and abilities are among the most powerful predictors of technology use. We conclude that normative age-related changes in ability must be taken into account when designing products and training programs for aging adults, and we discuss new tools to support designers. …
The Pervasive Problem With Placebos in Psychology
To draw causal conclusions about the efficacy of a psychological intervention, researchers must compare the treatment condition with a control group that accounts for improvements caused by factors other than the treatment. Using an active control helps to control for the possibility that improvement by the experimental group resulted from a placebo effect. Although active control groups are superior to “no-contact” controls, only when the active…
Using Mechanical Turk to Assess the Effects of Age and Spatial Proximity on Inattentional Blindness
Few studies have used online data collection to study cognitive aging. We used a large (N = 515) online sample to replicate the findings that inattentional blindness increases with age and with the distance of the unexpected object from the focus of attention. Critically, we assessed whether distance moderates the relationship between age and noticing. We replicated both age and distance effects, but found no age by distance interaction. These fi…
Do “Brain-Training” Programs Work?
In 2014, two groups of scientists published open letters on the efficacy of brain-training interventions, or “brain games,” for improving cognition. The first letter, a consensus statement from an international group of more than 70 scientists, claimed that brain games do not provide a scientifically grounded way to improve cognitive functioning or to stave off cognitive decline. Several months later, an international group of 133 scientists and …
Older Adult Video Game Preferences in Practice
Recent meta-analyses on video game interventions with the aim to improve cognition have shown promise for both younger and older adults. Most studies suggest that fast-paced action games produce the largest benefits, but previous work has shown that older adults might not necessarily adhere to interventions using action games. To increase intervention adherence, we investigated older adult video game preferences that might bolster adherence by ha…
Depressive Symptoms as a Predictor of Memory Complaints in the PRISM Sample
Our results suggest that memory complaints about frequency of forgetting can be the most reliable indicator of depression risk among the four factors in the MFQ. We discuss theoretical implications for longitudinal relationships between memory complaints, depressive symptoms, and cognitive function in older adults
Improving Social Support for Older Adults Through Technology
Objectives: Information and communication technology holds promise in terms of providing support and reducing isolation among older adults. We evaluated the impact of a specially designed computer system for older adults, the Personal Reminder Information and Social Management (PRISM) system. Design, Setting, and Participants: The trial was a multisite randomized field trial conducted at 3 sites. PRISM was compared to a Binder condition wherein p…
Designing for Older Adults
Winner of the 2019 Richard M. Kalish Innovative Publication Book Award 2019 – Gerontological Society of America This new edition provides easily accessible and usable guidelines for practitioners in the design community for older adults. It includes an updated overview of the demographic characteristics of older adult populations and the scientific knowledge base of the aging process relevant to design. New chapters include Existing and Emerging …
Technology Adoption by Older Adults
Background and Objectives: There is growing evidence of the benefits of computers for older adults. Yet, adoption rates are lower compared with younger adults. Extant theoretical models of technology acceptance are limited in their application to older adults-studies on which these models are based included a limited sample of older adults or none at all; none assessed use of a technology specifically designed for older adults; and most only meas…
Designing for Older Adults
Introduction and conceptual framework
Older adults and video gaming for leisure
Background Video games are often designed by younger adults for younger adults. When older adults are considered targets of game design, the focus is often not on leisure, but rehabilitation (e.g., cognitive training, stroke recovery, physical therapy). Commercial video games, if they are aimed toward older adult consumers at all, are typically marketed based on older adults' concerns about cognitive decline. Although there have been extensive in…
Applying aspects of deliberate practice to help low performers improve manual control in a complex task
Investigations of expert performers across many domains have suggested the accumulation of deliberate practice over many years is a key component of developing expertise. Researchers propose deliberate practice is effective for improving performance in the long term because it includes several structured elements that facilitate learning. However, the effects of such structured practice across shorter training periods are less understood. The cur…
Investigating the behavioral mechanisms of action video game effects in a complex transfer task
Over the past few decades, researchers have argued that playing action video games can substantially improve cognitive abilities and enhance learning. However, consensus has not been reached regarding the mechanisms through which action game experience facilitates superior performance on untrained perceptually and cognitively demanding transfer tasks. We argue that analysis of behaviors engaged in during transfer task performance may provide key …
Enhancing mobility of cognitively impaired older adults
As transportation becomes increasingly technology-dependent, older adults with cognitive impairment face significant barriers to maintaining mobility independence. This study aimed to enhance the mobility and independence of older adults with cognitive impairment through the design and iterative usability testing of online tutorials for mainstream transportation applications – Google Maps and Uber. Grounded in the cognitive theory of multimedia l…
Psychology (13 works) · Cognition (10 works) · Computer Science (10 works) · Cognitive psychology (7 works) · Technology Use by Older Adults (7 works) · Applied Psychology (6 works) · Medicine (6 works) · Multimedia (4 works) · Psychiatry (4 works) · Social Psychology (4 works)