Can analogy instructions help older people (re)learn activities of daily living?

van Duijn, Tina, Uiga, Liis ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5371-9428 and Masters, Rich SW (2024) Can analogy instructions help older people (re)learn activities of daily living? Journal of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 72 (3). pp. 155-159.

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Abstract

Objective. Motor analogies may be a useful tool for helping older people to learn or relearn complex sequences of movements, such as those involved in activities of daily living. Rather than provide explicit movement instructions, an analogy can be used to relate the to-belearned skill to a familiar concept. This study tested whether a motor analogy may be a useful tool for helping older people to learn an activity involving a complex sequence of movements. Methods. Twenty-four older adults learned to tie a bowline knot, either by traditional explicit instructions or by a ‘rabbit’ story analogy. Participants were asked to tie the knot as rapidly and correctly as possible. After one year, a delayed recall test of the movement sequence was conducted. Results. Analysis revealed no significant differences between the groups with respect to reaction time (p = .66), movement time (p = .80), or movement fluency (p = .22). After one year, participants in the explicit group required significantly fewer cues to recall the knot compared to participants in the analogy group (p = .003). Conclusions. Story analogies are allegorical and may not be superior to explicit instructions when it comes to helping older adults to learn, and retain, complex sequences of movements.