When psychology professor Wendy Rogers brings older adults in for studies on technology, she said the participants benefit the researchers, not the other way around.
“I think they help us out more,” said Rogers, MS Psy 89, PhD Psy 91. “The participants need to be very blunt.”
Rogers said the perception is that older adults dislike or are afraid of technology, but the opposite is true, studies have shown. The key is helping them understand the usefulness of technology and improving the interfaces of robots, computers, medical devices and other technology.
The School of Psychology emphasizes cognitive aging as one of its five research areas and has several labs focusing on cognition, memory, emotional development and technology. Rogers is one of the directors of the Human Factors and Aging Laboratory along with professor Dan Fisk. Much of the lab’s research is funded by the National Institute on Aging.
The school has been a national leader on aging for decades. Anderson Smith, a Regents professor of psychology and associate dean of the College of Sciences, established the annual Cognitive Aging Conference in 1986, and Tech has hosted it ever since.
“For the growing aging population, the goal is to help them remain in their own homes,” Rogers said. “I’ve worked with my parents and grandparents and seen the difference in their lives.”
Psychology researchers collaborate with faculty members across campus. In one effort, they bring older adults into the Aware Home to study their needs in a home setting.
Rogers said one challenge older people face with technology is their potential over-reliance on automated systems. Whereas people more familiar with technologies such as GPS will know when an automated device makes a mistake, older adults are more likely to follow incorrect instructions.
“They rely more heavily on the technology, even when it’s faulty,” Rogers said. “You have to understand the context to know when it’s wrong.”
Another project tests older adults’ interaction with robots. Charlie Kemp, director of the Center for Healthcare Robotics, works with psychology researchers to have older adults observe robots that pick things up and do other functions. The goal is to design the robots to assist older adults with everyday activities.
In addition to designing future technology, psychology professors help older adults interact with existing technology such as computers. Their studies found that older people are interested in computers but become frustrated with the complexity of them.
“There’s too much expectation,” Rogers said. “If they’ve never worked on a computer, they need a lot of special training.”
Another approach is to create special computers with limited functions. To that end, Tech is partnering with Big Screen Live, a company that has designed a computer with a simplified interface.
The school also is preparing a field trial to put computers in the homes of older adults who live on their own and are at risk of social isolation. Researchers believe the computers will allow these people to increase their social connectivity.
Georgia Tech alumni or others interested in taking part in aging research may call the Human Factors and Aging Laboratory at (404) 385-0798 or visit hfaging.org for more information.
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