There is a great deal of both anecdotal and scientific evidence indicating that aging is associated with an increased incidence of memory-related problems. The reasons for this decrement in memory performance with age in adulthood are unclear at present, but most of the research examining this problem has proceeded from the assumption that observed changes in retention are due to the documented decline in physiological functioning that occurs with aging. While it would be foolhardy to believe that physiological deterioration does not significantly affect psychological functioning, it also seems likely that developmental/experiential factors may also influence memory processes in adulthood. For example, much recent research has shown that the magnitude and direction of aging effects on memory are directly related to the meaningfulness of the tests to the age groups tested. Aging effects are few (and often in favor of the older adults) when relevant tasks are used that draw upon existing knowledge. In contrast, aging deficits are prevalent when memory is tested in nonmeaningful situations. It has been hypothesized that, in addition to the biologically determined aging effects, some of the differences in memory performance observed between different-aged adults may be due to differences in the availability, application, and organization of long-term memory knowledge structures, or schemas. In the present proposal, ideas drawn from schema-based theories of memory will be used to examine the differential influence of knowledge across age groups in the memory processing of meaningful materials. Specifically, schematic influences on attention will be examined to investigate the hypothesis that age differences in retention of meaningful materials are due to variations in the nature of schematic processing, the ease of activation of relevant schemas, and the flexibility of such activation. This will be done by examining variations in measures of attention and memory as they relate to manipulations in schematic structure and cues relating to structure. It is the goal of this research to increase our understanding of memory functioning in adulthood by examining the role of subjective knowledge in determining age-related changes in performance.
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