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Objectives: We investigated whether context or different speech rates could improve older adult performance on identification of synthetically generated words. Background: Synthetic speech systems can potentially improve the daily functioning of older adults. However, research must determine whether older adults can effectively implement current text-to-speech technologies, which few studies have examined. Older adults' sensory and cognitive declines may cause difficulties in identifying words in synthetic speech. Methods: Ninety-six participants (young, middle-aged, and older adults) identified auditory monosyllabic words (half natural, half synthetic) presented in isolation or at the ends of sentences. Participants heard speech at either normal or slower rates. Results: We found an interaction of age, context, and voice type and that slower speech rates worsened performance for all groups. Contrasts revealed that context reduced age differences, though only for natural speech. Hearing acuity was highly correlated with age and fully accounts for the interaction. Conclusions: Context improves performance for everyone in natural speech. However, whereas context improves performance for synthetic speech, it does not differentially reduce the age impairment for older adults. Slower speed generally impairs everyone's performance compared with the normal rate. Applications: Systems using synthetic speech should avoid presenting words in isolation, and rich contextual support should be consistently adopted. Synthetic speech fidelity must be improved significantly before becoming truly useful for older adult populations.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to determine whether older adults are placed at a unique disadvantage in identifying emotions at small image sizes. Background: Technologies relevant to older adults often display small images, though no studies have examined whether these systems are usable for this population. Given the importance of successful emotional processing, we draw on research showing age-related difficulties in processing negative emotions to examine older adults' performance on images with reduced sizes. Methods: Sixty participants, 20 in each age group, were shown the names of emotions, followed by a facial expression, and were asked to indicate as rapidly as possible if they matched. Results: For response time we found an interaction of age and window size, showing that older adults, unlike younger adults, are slower with small sizes than with large sizes. For accuracy, we found an interaction of age and emotion, indicating that older adults are less accurate in the perception of fearful, sad, and surprised stimuli. Conclusions: Only older adults are disadvantaged by smaller images. Also, interactions of age and emotion reflect older adults' difficulty processing negative emotions. Applications: Our results have implications for the design of videoconferencing technology and mobile systems and extend previous research on aging and emotion.