The effects of task novelty for age cohort and cognition level on memory for everyday virtual meal preparation tasks.

Nonsensical information increases task novelty, which makes it difficult to rely on previous learning and provides insight into the learning of new tasks. This study investigated procedural-based action scripts in everyday memory for meal preparation tasks in virtual reality. The sample ( = 171) consisted of 3 groups determined by age and cognitive function: young adults (YA;  = 61), older adults with normal cognition (OA;  = 82), and older adults with impaired cognition (IC;  = 28).