title: A benefit of context reinstatement to recognition memory in aging: the role of familiarity processes.
abstract: Reinstatement of encoding context facilitates memory for targets in young and older individuals (e.g., a word studied on a particular background scene is more likely to be remembered later if it is presented on the same rather than a different scene or no scene), yet older adults are typically inferior at recalling and recognizing target-context pairings. This study examined the mechanisms of the context effect in normal aging. Age differences in word recognition by context condition (original, switched, none, new), and the ability to explicitly remember target-context pairings were investigated using word-scene pairs (Experiment 1) and word-word pairs (Experiment 2). Both age groups benefited from context reinstatement in item recognition, although older adults were significantly worse than young adults at identifying original pairings and at discriminating between original and switched pairings. In Experiment 3, participants were given a three-alternative forced-choice recognition task that allowed older individuals to draw upon intact familiarity processes in selecting original pairings. Performance was age equivalent. Findings suggest that heightened familiarity associated with context reinstatement is useful for boosting recognition memory in aging.
authors.affiliation: a Psychology Department, School of Science and Technology , Middlesex University , London , UK.
authors.forename: Emma V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: b Department of Psychology , University of Warwick , Coventry , UK.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Maylor
authors.affiliation: c City, University of London , London , UK.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poirier
authors.affiliation: a Psychology Department, School of Science and Technology , Middlesex University , London , UK.
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Korko
authors.affiliation: a Psychology Department, School of Science and Technology , Middlesex University , London , UK.
authors.forename: Jens C M
authors.initials: JCM
authors.lastname: Ruud
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D001245:Association Learning; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D014706:Verbal Learning; D014825:Vocabulary; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aging; context reinstatement; familiarity; implicit memory; recognition