title: Awareness of Memory Ability and Change: (In)Accuracy of Memory Self-Assessments in Relation to Performance.
abstract: Little is known about subjective assessments of memory abilities and decline among middle-aged adults or their association with objective memory performance in the general population. In this study we examined self-ratings of memory ability and change in relation to episodic memory performance in two national samples of middle-aged and older adults from the Midlife in the United States study (MIDUS II in 2005-06) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; every two years from 2002 to 2012). MIDUS (Study 1) participants (N=3,581) rated their memory compared to others their age and to themselves five years ago; HRS (Study 2) participants (N=14,821) rated their current memory and their memory compared to two years ago, with up to six occasions of longitudinal data over ten years. In both studies, episodic memory performance was the total number of words recalled in immediate and delayed conditions. When controlling for demographic and health correlates, self-ratings of memory abilities, but not subjective change, were related to performance. We examined accuracy by comparing subjective and objective memory ability and change. More than one third of the participants across the studies had self-assessments that were inaccurate relative to their actual level of performance and change, and accuracy differed as a function of demographic and health factors. Further understanding of self-awareness of memory abilities and change beginning in midlife may be useful for identifying early warning signs of decline, with implications regarding policies and practice for early detection and treatment of cognitive impairment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Saint Anselm College, Manchester, NH.
authors.forename: Elizabeth Hahn
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Rickenbach
authors.affiliation: Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Agrigoroaei
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brandeis University.
authors.forename: Margie E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Lachman
keywords: Accuracy of self-assessments; Episodic memory; Memory complaints; Memory concerns; Memory self-ratings; Subjective Memory Ability; Subjective Memory Change
references.citation: J Aging Health. 2010 Apr;22(3):307-31
references.pmid: 20103686
references.citation: J Intern Med. 2004 Sep;256(3):183-94
references.pmid: 15324362
references.citation: J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2008 Nov;14(6):1004-13
references.pmid: 18954480
references.citation: J Am Geriatr Soc. 1993 Dec;41(12):1295-300
references.pmid: 8227910
references.citation: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 1997 May;52 Spec No:37-48
references.pmid: 9215356
references.citation: Neurology. 2007 Oct 23;69(17):1657-64
references.pmid: 17954781
references.citation: Aging Ment Health. 2009 Sep;13(5):699-705
references.pmid: 19882408
references.citation: Psychol Aging. 1995 Dec;10(4):578-89
references.pmid: 8749585
references.citation: Neuropsychology. 2005 Jul;19(4):520-31
references.pmid: 16060827
references.citation: J Psychiatr Res. 1975 Nov;12(3):189-98
references.pmid: 1202204
references.citation: Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 1994 Jul;9(4):353-61
references.pmid: 14589628
references.citation: Neuropsychology. 2007 Mar;21(2):158-69
references.pmid: 17402816
references.citation: J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2008 Mar;14(2):327-36
references.pmid: 18282330
references.citation: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2011 Jul;66 Suppl 1:i130-40
references.pmid: 21743046
references.citation: Alzheimers Dement. 2014 Nov;10(6):844-52
references.pmid: 24798886
references.citation: J Aging Health. 1993 May;5(2):179-93
references.pmid: 10125443
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Aug 1;170(3):331-42
references.pmid: 19605514
references.citation: Alzheimers Dement. 2011 May;7(3):270-9
references.pmid: 21514249
references.citation: Lancet Neurol. 2007 Aug;6(8):734-46
references.pmid: 17616482
references.citation: Ann Neurol. 2011 Sep;70(3):418-26
references.pmid: 21425187
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 2010 Nov;99(5):755-70
references.pmid: 20954785
references.citation: Psychol Aging. 2014 Jun;29(2):250-63
references.pmid: 24955993
references.citation: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2011 Jul;66 Suppl 1:i162-71
references.pmid: 21743047
references.citation: Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2009;28(2):95-109
references.pmid: 19684399
references.citation: Alzheimers Dement. 2007 Apr;3(2):92-7
references.pmid: 19595922
references.citation: Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2014 Dec;130(6):439-51
references.pmid: 25219393
references.citation: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2010 Aug;18(8):701-10
references.pmid: 21491631
references.citation: J Gen Intern Med. 2000 May;15(5):284-92
references.pmid: 10840263
references.citation: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2013 May 10;62(18):347-50
references.pmid: 23657108
references.citation: Annu Rev Psychol. 2004;55:305-31
references.pmid: 14744218
references.citation: Assessment. 2014 Aug;21(4):404-17
references.pmid: 24322011
references.citation: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2011 Jul;66 Suppl 1:i153-61
references.pmid: 21196437
references.citation: J Am Geriatr Soc. 2000 Nov;48(11):1435-41
references.pmid: 11083320
references.citation: Disabil Rehabil. 2008;30(23):1794-802
references.pmid: 18608410
references.citation: Alzheimers Dement. 2014 Mar;10(2):e47-92
references.pmid: 24818261
references.citation: BMC Geriatr. 2009 Jun 25;9:23
references.pmid: 19555494
references.citation: J Aging Health. 2001 May;13(2):248-66
references.pmid: 11787514
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2008 Sep;44(5):1421-9
references.pmid: 18793073
references.citation: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 1999 Sep;54(5):S291-301
references.pmid: 10542831
references.citation: Int Psychogeriatr. 2011 May;23(4):616-24
references.pmid: 21044401
references.citation: Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2007 May;22(5):393-400
references.pmid: 17044138
references.citation: Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2006;22(5-6):471-85
references.pmid: 17047326
references.citation: NIH Consens State Sci Statements. 2010 Apr 28;27(4):1-30
references.pmid: 20445638
references.citation: Psychol Aging. 2007 Sep;22(3):525-545
references.pmid: 17874952
references.citation: Psychol Med. 1997 Jan;27(1):91-8
references.pmid: 9122313
references.citation: J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005 Apr;53(4):695-9
references.pmid: 15817019
references.citation: Neurobiol Aging. 1997 Jul-Aug;18(4):351-7
references.pmid: 9330961
references.citation: Neurology. 2014 Oct 7;83(15):1359-65
references.pmid: 25253756
references.citation: Neurology. 2013 Oct 15;81(16):1409-16
references.pmid: 24049134
references.citation: Psychosomatics. 2003 Nov-Dec;44(6):461-70
references.pmid: 14597680
references.citation: J Alzheimers Dis. 2012;29(2):393-403
references.pmid: 22233768
references.citation: Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2013 Sep;28(6):600-5
references.pmid: 23813789
references.citation: J Affect Disord. 2002 Nov;72(2):157-65
references.pmid: 12200206
references.citation: Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2004 Nov-Dec;19(6):353-60
references.pmid: 15633944
references.citation: Scand J Psychol. 2014 Apr;55(2):136-41
references.pmid: 24646046
references.citation: Med Care. 1992 Jun;30(6):473-83
references.pmid: 1593914
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 1999 Dec;77(6):1121-34
references.pmid: 10626367
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2011 Mar;137(2):211-41
references.pmid: 21244133
references.citation: Ann Intern Med. 2008 Mar 18;148(6):427-34
references.pmid: 18347351
references.citation: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2013 Aug;21(8):729-36
references.pmid: 23834858
references.citation: Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn. 2015;22(1):25-41
references.pmid: 24597768
references.citation: Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2008;25(3):266-71
references.pmid: 18270489
references.citation: J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 1993 Apr-Jun;6(2):105-11
references.pmid: 8512626
references.citation: Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2008 Nov;23(11):1191-202
references.pmid: 18500688
references.citation: Psychol Aging. 2014 Dec;29(4):814-27
references.pmid: 25244464
references.citation: Aging Ment Health. 2007 Nov;11(6):708-15
references.pmid: 18074258
references.citation: J Fam Pract. 2008 Jan;57(1):41-4
references.pmid: 18171569
references.citation: J Nutr Health Aging. 2008 Jan;12(1):66S-72S
references.pmid: 18165849
references.citation: Neuropsychologia. 2012 Oct;50(12):2880-2886
references.pmid: 22940426
references.citation: BMJ. 2012 Jan 05;344:d7622
references.pmid: 22223828
references.citation: Br J Psychiatry. 1986 Dec;149:698-709
references.pmid: 3790869
references.citation: Neuroepidemiology. 2005;25(4):181-91
references.pmid: 16103729
references.citation: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2014 Nov;22(11):1222-32
references.pmid: 23880335
references.citation: Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2011 Jun;20(3):167-173
references.pmid: 24478539