Age differences in working memory--the roles of storage and selective access.
Twenty-four young (23 years) and 24 old (71 years) adults performed arithmetic tasks with working memory loads ranging from 1 to 4. Age groups were equivalent in mean accuracy and speed of arithmetic operations under minimal working memory load, but old adults were slower than young with memory demands >1. Access to a new object in working memory as the basis of computation required additional time. This object-switching cost increased with increases in memory demand, but was unaffected by age, indicating that old adults have no deficit in selective access to working memory.
Oberauer
Klaus
K
Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany. ko@ry.uni-potsdam.de
Wendland
Mirko
M
Kliegl
Reinhold
R
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D008568:Memory; D011340:Problem Solving