title: The two faces of selective memory retrieval: Earlier decline of the beneficial than the detrimental effect with older age.
abstract: Recent work with young adults has shown that, depending on study context access, selective memory retrieval can both impair and improve recall of other memories (Bäuml & Samenieh, 2010). Here, we investigated the 2 opposing effects of selective retrieval in older age. In Experiment 1, we examined 64 younger (20-35 years) and 64 older participants (above 60 years), and manipulated study context access using list-method directed forgetting. Whereas both age groups showed a detrimental effect of selective retrieval on to-be-remembered items, only younger but not older adults showed a beneficial effect on to-be-forgotten items. In Experiment 2, we examined 112 participants from a relatively wide age range (40-85 years), and manipulated study context access by varying the retention interval between study and test. Overall, a detrimental effect of selective retrieval arose when the retention interval was relatively short, but a beneficial effect when the retention interval was prolonged. Critically, the size of the beneficial but not the detrimental effect of retrieval decreased with age and this age-related decline was mediated by individuals' working memory capacity, as measured by the complex operation span task. Together, the results suggest an age-related dissociation in retrieval dynamics, indicating an earlier decline of the beneficial than the detrimental effect of selective retrieval with older age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Martin Luther University Halle- Wittenberg.
authors.forename: Alp
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aslan
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Regensburg University.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schlichting
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: John
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Regensburg University.
authors.forename: Karl-Heinz T
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Bäuml
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult