Effects of prior retrieval on adult age differences in long-term recall of activities.
The beneficial effects of prior short-term retrieval on the later long-term recall of activities were tested for both young adult and elderly adult subjects. For a series of 12 activities, short-term recall tests occurred after each block of 2, 4, or 6 activities. Relative to a control condition receiving no interpolated short-term tests, long-term recall was higher overall for the interpolated recall conditions at both age levels. However, the magnitude of the age-related deficit was unaffected by the various conditions. The greatest increment in long-term recall occurred for the groups receiving short-term tests after every four activities. The optimal benefit of prior retrieval as a mnemonic seems to come from conditions that demand some degree of cognitive effort as well as a moderately high level of successful short-term retrieval. In addition, a significant age-related deficit in recall was found for a short list of 6 activities as well as for the longer list of 12 activities.
Kausler
D H
DH
Department of Psychology, University of Missouri, Columbia 65211.
Wiley
J G
JG
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged