Abstract
To clarify the role of encoding distinctiveness and encoding cue utilization in age-related memory differences, young and elder ly adults were instructed either to generate distinctive or common adjectives for 40 nouns and given 3 study-recall trials for the nouns, both with no cues and with the adjectives that they had generated as cues. Their retention was compared with that of a control group that had rated the nouns for abstractness. Elderly adults were as likely as young adults to generate distinctive adjectives, but were less likely than young adults to generate common adjectives when instructed to do so. In both age groups, common adjective encodings produced superior free recall and distinctive adjective encodings produced superior cued recall. The results suggest that (1) elderly adults are as capable as young adults of generating distinctive encoding context cues when instructed to do so, and (2) age-related encoding differences occur in the processing of distinctive properties of the stimulus items themselves rather than in the utilization of cues generated during study.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 141-146 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Experimental Aging Research |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1986 |
Funding
'This study was supported by a grant from the Drake University Research Council. The authors would like to express appreciation to Vincent C. Nelson, Alumni Relations, Drake University, for his assistance in contacting participants, and to Dr. George Miller for his assistance in data analysis. Address requests for reprints to: Jane L. Rankin, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Drake University. Des Moines, Iowa 5031 1. 'From the Department of Psychology, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa 5031 1, U.S.A.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geriatrics and Gerontology
- Aging
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- General Psychology