Article

Successful execution of motor tasks requires an integration of the perception of
one's physical abilities and the perception of the task itself. Physical and
cognitive decline associated with ageing may lead to misjudgments of these
perceived and actual abilities and possibly to errors that may lead to balance
loss. We aimed to directly quantify the degree to which older adults misjudge
their actual gait ability.
Twenty-seven older adults participated and were
instructed to walk on a narrow path projected on a treadmill.
We tested two
paradigms to estimate the participants' perceived gait ability: a path width
manipulation, in which participants had to indicate the smallest path width that
they could walk on without stepping outside or losing balance (at given speed),
and a treadmill speed manipulation, in which they had to indicate the maximum
speed that they could use at a given path width. We determined their actual
ability as the probability of stepping inside the path over a range of path
widths and speeds. The path width paradigm seemed suitable for evaluating
self-perception of actual gait ability and revealed that participants appeared to
show a range of misjudgment towards either over- or underestimating their actual
abilities. Better abilities appeared not associated with better judgment. Direct
quantification of the degree of misjudgment provides insight in the interplay
between cognition and physical abilities and can be of added value towards
prevention of falls and promotion of healthy ageing.
CI - Copyright A(c) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS