Improving attention in old age

The aim of this study was to examine whether a mindful intervention, based on noticing distinctions, could be used to improve the attention of older i ndividuals. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four attention in terventions. In the mindfulness groups, participants studying a set of pict ures were told to notice either three or five distinctions. In the control groups, participants were either told to pay attention or were not given an y directions related to attention before exposure to the set of pictures. T he results indicated that those who viewed the stimuli in terms of distinct ions were able to remember significantly more pictures than did those in th e control groups. Distinction drawing also increased liking for the stimuli . The findings suggest that if older individuals want to increase attention and recall, rather than focus their attention, they may want to find ways to vary their attention.