The proposed experiments extend previous research on activity/action memory that has revealed this form of episodic memory to be age sensitive, despite the apparent automaticity of its encoding processes. Of concern will be the role played by retrieval processes in determining age-related deficits in memory both for the content of performed activities/actions and for some content attributes of those episodic events. Five experiments are planned. Experiments 1 and 2 involve interpolated short-term recall of recently performed activities/actions as a form of """"""""retrieval practice."""""""" Experiment 3 will permit a comparison between the effects of verbal recall and performance repetition as means of enhancing subsequent memorability. Experiments 4 and 5 will contrast the effects of massed and distributed repetitions of actions on later memorability. At stake is the extent to which the encoding of contextual information enhances later retrievability. Experiments 4 and 5 will also test the applicability of the concept of generic memory to memory for noncontent attributes of actions. Memory for activities/actions is an important component of everyday memory, and a likely major source of the frequently expressed everyday memory problems of elderly adults. It is anticipated that procedures effective in improving everyday activity/action memory will be discovered in the proposed research. These procedures could be incorporated into memory training programs for elderly adults.
