title: A new look at retest learning in older adults: learning in the absence of item-specific effects.
abstract: We investigated retest learning (i.e., performance improvement through retest practice) in the absence of item-specific effects (i.e., learning through memorizing or becoming familiar with specific items) with older adults. Thirty-one older adults (ages 60-82 years, M = 71.10, SD = 6.27) participated in an eight-session self-guided retest program. To eliminate item-specific effects, parallel versions of representative psychometric measures for Inductive Reasoning, Perceptual Speed, and Visual Attention were developed and administered across retest sessions. The results showed substantial non-item-specific retest learning, even controlling for anxiety, suggesting that retest learning in older adults can occur at a more conceptual level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, 823A-Jorgenson Hall, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. lixiay@ryerson.ca
authors.forename: Lixia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D001288:Attention; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011340:Problem Solving; D011594:Psychometrics; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D012660:Semantics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014796:Visual Perception