AGE AND GENDER-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN STRATEGY USE FOR ROUTE INFORMATION - A MAP-PRESENT DIRECTION-GIVING PARADIGM

Adults, ranging in age from 20 to 78 years, were required to give dire ctions to a hypothetical stranger while looking at a map. The directio n giving was scared according to the strategies employed by the direct ion giver (e.g., landmarks, relational turns, road names, and cardinal ity). The ''map present'' direction-giving paradigm was employed to re duce the influence of memory. The results suggest that the aging decli ne in spatial abilities does not influence direction-giving strategies when memory demands are minimal. Older adults are as proficient as yo ung adults when employing direction-giving strategies. Middle-age fema les employed a significantly higher frequency of strategies relative t o young males, young females, middle-age males, and older females. Whe n accuracy was examined, gender-related differences favoring males wer e obtained for the relational strategy.