Older adults tend to rely on environmental information more than necessary (Lindenberger in maximum-uncertainty trials, S-R rules changed randomly (p = .5), requiring cue inspection. Across two experiments, young adults showed adaptive cue-checking with both short- and longer term adjustments, as well as modulation by trial-level uncertainty (i.e., conflict and errors), but not by broader task control demands. In Experiment 2, older adults exhibited slower adaptation, reduced sensitivity to trial-to-trial uncertainty, and weaker differentiation between certainty and uncertainty contexts. Beyond identifying uncertainty as a key driver of the internal-external control balance, our findings indicate that age-related increases in environmental reliance reflect a deficit in context differentiation, not a strategic bias. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Hubbard et al. (Mon,) studied this question.