title: Intelligence moderates the benefits of strategy instructions on memory performance: an adult-lifespan examination.
abstract: Whether older adults can compensate for their associative memory deficit by using memory strategies efficiently might depend on their general cognitive abilities. This study examined the moderating role of an IQ estimate on the beneficial effects of strategy instructions. A total of 142 participants (aged 18-85 years) received either intentional learning or strategy ("sentence generation") instructions during encoding of word pairs. Whereas young adults with a lower IQ benefited from strategy instructions, those with a higher IQ did not, presumably because they already use strategies spontaneously. Older adults showed the opposite effect: following strategy instructions, older adults with a higher IQ showed a strong increase in memory performance (approximately achieving the level of younger adults), whereas older adults with a lower IQ did not, suggesting that they have difficulties implementing the provided strategies. These results highlight the importance of the role of IQ in compensating for the aging-related memory decline.
authors.affiliation: a Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour , Radboud University , Nijmegen , The Netherlands.|b Rehabilitation Centre Klimmendaal , Arnhem , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nikita L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Frankenmolen
authors.affiliation: a Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour , Radboud University , Nijmegen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mareike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Altgassen
authors.affiliation: a Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour , Radboud University , Nijmegen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Renée
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kessels
authors.affiliation: a Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour , Radboud University , Nijmegen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marleen M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: de Waal
authors.affiliation: a Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour , Radboud University , Nijmegen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Julie-Anne
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hindriksen
authors.affiliation: a Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour , Radboud University , Nijmegen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Verhoeven
authors.affiliation: a Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour , Radboud University , Nijmegen , The Netherlands.|b Rehabilitation Centre Klimmendaal , Arnhem , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fasotti
authors.affiliation: c Developmental Psychology, Behavioural Science Institute , Radboud University , Nijmegen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anouk
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scheres
authors.affiliation: a Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour , Radboud University , Nijmegen , The Netherlands.|d Department of Medical Psychology , Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Roy P C
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Kessels
authors.affiliation: a Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour , Radboud University , Nijmegen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Joukje M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Oosterman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001245:Association Learning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008569:Memory Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011897:Random Allocation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Associative memory deficit; aging; cognitive reserve; lifespan; strategy use