Content area
Full Text
OBJECTIVE. We examined the effect of switching from a familiar to an unfamiliar setting on household task performance in healthy adults. We also examined the influence of the cognitive functions abstract reasoning and memory on the ability to adapt to different environments.
METHOD. Thirty healthy adults were observed in two different settings while they performed two daily tasks. We evaluated process skill abilities in task performance, time needed to perform each task, memory functioning, and abstract reasoning.
RESULTS. Performance of both tasks required significantly more time in the unfamiliar kitchen. Scores on process skill abilities were significantly lower in the unfamiliar kitchen. We found no associations between environmental effects and abstract reasoning or memory.
CONCLUSION. We found environmental effects on task performance in healthy adults. These findings have important implications for rehabilitation practice. Addressing facilitation of transfer of training effects to familiar environments is of great importance to rehabilitation programs.
KEY WORDS
* activities of daily living
* cognition
* environment
* task performance and analysis
* transfer (psychology)
The term transfer relates to the use of prior learning in new contexts or to the way in which prior learning affects new learning and performance (Byrnes, 1996; Marini & Genereux, 1995; Singley & Anderson, 1989). It has often been stated that transfer is essential for new learning and that transfer should be the main goal of rehabilitation programs (Byrnes, 1996; Cicerone et al., 2005; Geusgens, Winkens, van Heugten, Jolles, & van den Heuvel, 2007; Haskell, 2001; Marini & Genereux, 1995; Parente & Herrmann, 2003; Singley & Anderson, 1989).
The performance of daily tasks may be influenced by the environment (Darragh, Sample, & Fisher, 1998). Patients with acquired brain injury living at home showed better performance of daily tasks in their own homes than in unfamiliar environments, thus demonstrating an environmental effect on task performance. In one of the few studies investigating transfer in healthy adults, Park, Fisher, and Velozo (1994) examined the effect of home versus clinical settings on daily task performance. Their participants were healthy older adults (i.e., people without a diagnosis of brain injury) who were asked to perform daily tasks at home and in an unfamiliar setting. Both motor and process abilities (i.e., cognitive abilities needed to perform a task) were...