Interface design for older adults with varying cultural attitudes toward uncertainty

This work reports on the design and evaluation of culturally appropriate technology for older adults. Our design context was Cognitive Testing on a Computer (C-TOC): a self-administered computerized test under development, intended to screen older adults for cognitive impairments. Using theory triangulation of cultural attitudes toward uncertainty, we designed two interfaces (one minimal and one rich) for one C-TOC subtest and hypothesized they would be culturally appropriate for older adult Caucasians and East Asians respectively. We ran an experiment with 36 participants to investigate cultural differences in performance, preference and anxiety. We found that Caucasians preferred the interface with minimal elements (i.e. those essential for the primary task) or had no preference. By contrast, East Asians preferred the rich interface augmented with security and learning support and felt less anxious with it than the minimal.