title: Top-down processing and the suffix effect in young and older adults.
abstract: The suffix effect has generally been viewed as reflecting an automatic component involving the terminal item and a component susceptible to top-down influences involving the preterminal items (Balota & Engle, 1981). Recent findings have raised questions about this widely accepted view of the suffix effect by showing that the terminal component is not insensitive to top-down influences (Bloom & Watkins, 1999). In the present study, we attempted to uncover the source of these contradictory findings by assessing whether the terminal item's susceptibility to top-down influences might depend on subjects' first-hand experience of the extent to which recall is affected by the suffix. Furthermore, we examined whether age differences in the suffix effect could be attributed to age-related declines in inhibitory processes. Our findings supported both predictions.
authors.affiliation: Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri , USA. mpilotti@hunter.cuny.edu
authors.forename: Maura
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pilotti
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.forename: Mariya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yasunami
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D012691:Serial Learning; D013067:Speech Perception