Facts and fiction about memory aging: a quantitative integration of research findings

Article Abstract:

A meta-analysis of studies comparing young and old adults on five basic memory tasks reveals large age differences, with young adults performing better than older adults. The most consistent differences were observed in short-term and episodic memory tasks. Moderator variables such as memory strategies had little effect except in the area of list recall. The age of individuals within the older sample had a negative performance effect only in speed of search in short-term memory and prose recall tests. It is unclear how relevant these studies are to everyday memory function.

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More or less the same? A memorability analysis on episodic memory tasks in young and older adults

Article Abstract:

The decline associated with age in ability to perform episodic memory tasks involving deliberate recall appears to be largely a quantitative rather than a qualitative phenomenon. Older adults' ability to recall individual items (in lists) or ideas (in texts) could be predicted based on younger adults' performance on the same tasks, with a median correlation of .88, for a sample of 48 younger and 45 older adults. The same item characteristics could be used to predict probability of recall by younger or older adults.

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On the mechanisms of plasticity in young and older adults after instruction in the method of loci: evidence for an amplification model

Article Abstract:

Young and old adults show similar cognitive mechanisms of memory plasticity after instruction in the method of loci. The age-associated variables of the speed of mental operations, associative memory, and the number of rehearsals affect memory plasticity. Older adults comply less with instructions and use the method of loci less often than younger adults. The results agree with an amplification model for memory plasticity. Plasticity is positively related to pretest performance and negatively related to age.

Psychological aspects, Methods, Adults, Recollection (Psychology), Mnemonics, Recall (Memory)

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