Level of Processing and Age Affect Involuntary Conceptual Priming of Weak but not Strong Associates

2004 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 159-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Ramponi ◽  
Alan Richardson-Klavehn ◽  
John M. Gardiner
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Free Association ◽  
Cued Recall ◽  
Age Effects ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Memory Tests ◽  
Conceptual Priming ◽  
Retrieval Strategies ◽  
Incidental Condition ◽  
Level Of Processing

Abstract. Memory for weak and strong semantic associates was compared in intentional associate-cued-recall and incidental free-association tests. This design yielded four conditions (weak/intentional, strong/intentional, weak/incidental, and strong/incidental) on which younger and older adults were compared. Level of processing (LOP) and age effects occurred for the weak/intentional, strong/intentional, and weak/incidental conditions, but not for the strong/incidental condition. Because participants could not distinguish weak from strong associates during the memory tests, these results suggest that free-association priming was involuntary and was not contaminated by voluntary retrieval strategies. Instead, they suggest that encoding deficits related to shallower LOP and older age reduce involuntary free-association priming mainly for associates without cohesive preexperimental representations.

scholarly journals Age effects in autobiographical memory depend on the measure

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0259279
Author(s):  
Ali Mair ◽  
Marie Poirier ◽  
Martin A. Conway
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Retention Interval ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Word List ◽  
Age Effects ◽  
The Other ◽  
Event Type ◽  
Memory Tests ◽  
The Past

Studies examining age effects in autobiographical memory have produced inconsistent results. This study examined whether a set of typical autobiographical memory measures produced equivalent results in a single participant sample. Five memory tests (everyday memory, autobiographical memory from the past year, autobiographical memory from age 11–17, word-cued autobiographical memory, and word-list recall) were administered in a single sample of young and older adults. There was significant variance in the tests’ sensitivity to age: word-cued autobiographical memory produced the largest deficit in older adults, similar in magnitude to word-list recall. In contrast, older adults performed comparatively well on the other measures. The pattern of findings was broadly consistent with the results of previous investigations, suggesting that (1) the results of the different AM tasks are reliable, and (2) variable age effects in the autobiographical memory literature are at least partly due to the use of different tasks, which cannot be considered interchangeable measures of autobiographical memory ability. The results are also consistent with recent work dissociating measures of specificity and detail in autobiographical memory, and suggest that specificity is particularly sensitive to ageing. In contrast, detail is less sensitive to ageing, but is influenced by retention interval and event type. The extent to which retention interval and event type interact with age remains unclear; further research using specially designed autobiographical memory tasks could resolve this issue.

Age-Related Decline in Emotional Prosody Discrimination

2014 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel L. C. Mitchell ◽  
Rachel A. Kingston
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Duration Discrimination ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
Sensory Level ◽  
Emotional Prosody ◽  
Processing Stage ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Level Of Processing

It is now accepted that older adults have difficulty recognizing prosodic emotion cues, but it is not clear at what processing stage this ability breaks down. We manipulated the acoustic characteristics of tones in pitch, amplitude, and duration discrimination tasks to assess whether impaired basic auditory perception coexisted with our previously demonstrated age-related prosodic emotion perception impairment. It was found that pitch perception was particularly impaired in older adults, and that it displayed the strongest correlation with prosodic emotion discrimination. We conclude that an important cause of age-related impairment in prosodic emotion comprehension exists at the fundamental sensory level of processing.

Memory Tests Increase Older Adults' Subjective Age

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Hughes ◽  
Lisa Geraci ◽  
Ross L. De Forrest
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Memory Tests

Executive Dysfunction Mediates the Association Between Older Age and Online Health Information Search Performance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Kordovski ◽  
Savanna M. Tierney ◽  
Samina Rahman ◽  
Luis D. Medina ◽  
Michelle A. Babicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Executive Dysfunction ◽  
Older Age ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related

Objective: Searching the Internet for health-related information is a complex and dynamic goal-oriented process that places demands on executive functions, which are higher-order cognitive abilities that are known to deteriorate with older age. This study aimed to examine the effects of older age on electronic health (eHealth) search behavior, and to determine whether executive functions played a mediating role in that regard. Method: Fifty younger adults (≤ 35 years) and 41 older adults (≥50 years) completed naturalistic eHealth search tasks involving fact-finding (Fact Search) and symptom diagnosis (Symptom Search), a neurocognitive battery, and a series of questionnaires. Results: Multiple regression models with relevant covariates revealed that older adults were slower and less accurate than younger adults on the eHealth Fact Search task, but not on the eHealth Symptom Search task. Nevertheless, executive functions mediated the relationship between older age and eHealth Fact Search and Symptom Search accuracy. Conclusions: Older adults can experience difficulty searching the Internet for some health-related information, which is at least partly attributable to executive dysfunction. Future studies are needed to determine the benefits of training in the organizational and strategic aspects of Internet search for older adults and whether these findings are applicable to clinical populations with executive dysfunction.

Parental Bereavement in Older Age: A Scoping Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732199581
Author(s):  
Patricia Moyle Wright
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Parental Bereavement ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
Physical Decline ◽  
Scoping Reviews ◽  
Cultural Mores ◽  
Meta Analyses

A scoping review of parental bereavement in older age was conducted to identify the unique needs of older adults after the loss of an adult child. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed in accordance with the stated objectives of this review, which was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). In total, 26 research studies were included. The data were then analyzed using a systematic approach for organizing and synthesizing key data. The results indicated that some consequences and mediators of parental bereavement are similar regardless of age. But, older adults experience greater loneliness, isolation, and stigma than their younger counterparts. Older parents are also at greater risk for physical decline, mortality, and institutionalization following the death of an adult child. Religious and cultural mores also have influence on the bereavement process.

scholarly journals Performance in complex life situations: effects of age, cognition, and walking speed in virtual versus real life environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Kafri ◽  
Patrice L. Weiss ◽  
Gabriel Zeilig ◽  
Moshe Bondi ◽  
Ilanit Baum-Cohen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Real World ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Age Effects ◽  
Shopping Mall ◽  
Complex Task ◽  
The Real ◽  
Gait Parameters

Abstract Background Virtual reality (VR) enables objective and accurate measurement of behavior in ecologically valid and safe environments, while controlling the delivery of stimuli and maintaining standardized measurement protocols. Despite this potential, studies that compare virtual and real-world performance of complex daily activities are scarce. This study aimed to compare cognitive strategies and gait characteristics of young and older healthy adults as they engaged in a complex task while navigating in a real shopping mall and a high-fidelity virtual replica of the mall. Methods Seventeen older adults (mean (SD) age = 71.2 (5.6) years, 64% males) and 17 young adults (26.7 (3.7) years, 35% males) participated. In two separate sessions they performed the Multiple Errands Test (MET) in a real-world mall or the Virtual MET (VMET) in the virtual environment. The real-world environment was a small shopping area and the virtual environment was created within the CAREN™ (Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment) Integrated Reality System. The performance of the task was assessed using motor and physiological measures (gait parameters and heart rate), MET or VMET time and score, and navigation efficiency (cognitive performance and strategy). Between (age groups) and within (environment) differences were analyzed with ANOVA repeated measures. Results There were no significant age effects for any of the gait parameters but there were significant environment effects such that both age groups walked faster (F(1,32) = 154.96, p < 0.0001) with higher step lengths (F(1,32) = 86.36, p < 0.0001), had lower spatial and temporal gait variability (F(1,32) = 95.71–36.06, p < 0.0001) and lower heart rate (F(1,32) = 13.40, p < 0.01) in the real-world. There were significant age effects for MET/VMET scores (F(1,32) = 19.77, p < 0.0001) and total time (F(1,32) = 11.74, p < 0.05) indicating better performance of the younger group, and a significant environment effect for navigation efficiency (F(1,32) = 7.6, p < 0.01) that was more efficient in the virtual environment. Conclusions This comprehensive, ecological approach in the measurement of performance during tasks reminiscent of complex life situations showed the strengths of using virtual environments in assessing cognitive aspects and limitations of assessing motor aspects of performance. Difficulties by older adults were apparent mainly in the cognitive aspects indicating a need to evaluate them during complex task performance.

scholarly journals Age-Related Differences in Actual-Ideal Personality Trait Level Discrepancies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Hennecke ◽  
Paul Schumann ◽  
jule specht
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Personality Trait ◽  
Age Effects ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Trait Level ◽  
Patterns Of Behavior ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Impact

People differ from each other in their typical patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion and these patterns are considered to constitute their personalities (Funder, 2001). For various reasons, for example because certain trait levels may help to attain certain goals or fulfill certain social roles, people may experience that their actual trait levels are different from their ideal trait levels. In this study, we investigated (1) the impact of age on discrepancies between actual and ideal Big Five personality trait levels and (2) the impact of these discrepancies on personality trait changes across a period of two years. We use data of a large, nationally representative, and age-diverse sample (N = 4,057, 17-94 years, M = 53 years). Results largely confirmed previously reported age effects on actual personality trait levels but were sometimes more complex. Ideal trait levels exceeded actual trait levels more strongly for younger compared to older adults. Unexpectedly, neither ideal trait levels nor their interaction with beliefs about the extent to which personality is malleable vs. fixed predicted trait change over two years (controlling for actual trait levels). We conclude that ideal-actual trait level discrepancies may provide an impetus for change but that they appear to neither alone nor in combination with the belief that personality trait change is possible suffice to produce such change. We discuss commitment, self-efficacy, and strategy knowledge as potential additional predictors of trait change.

scholarly journals Aging Reduces EEG Markers of Recognition Despite Intact Performance: Implications for Forensic Memory Detection

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Hellerstedt ◽  
Arianna Moccia ◽  
Chloe M. Brunskill ◽  
Howard Bowman ◽  
Zara M. Bergström
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Behavioural Performance ◽  
Older Populations

AbstractERP-based forensic memory detection is based on the logic that guilty suspects will hold incriminating knowledge about crimes they have committed, and therefore should show parietal ERP positivities related to recognition when presented with reminders of their crimes. We predicted that such forensic memory detection might however be inaccurate in older adults, because of changes to recognition-related brain activity that occurs with aging. We measured both ERPs and EEG oscillations associated with episodic old/new recognition and forensic memory detection in 30 younger (age < 30) and 30 older (age > 65) adults. EEG oscillations were included as a complementary measure which is less sensitive to temporal variability and component overlap than ERPs. In line with predictions, recognition-related parietal ERP positivities were significantly reduced in the older compared to younger group in both tasks, despite highly similar behavioural performance. We also observed ageing-related reductions in oscillatory markers of recognition in the forensic memory detection test, while the oscillatory effects associated with episodic recognition were similar across age groups. This pattern of results suggests that while both forensic memory detection and episodic recognition are accompanied by ageing-induced reductions in parietal ERP positivities, these reductions may be caused by non-overlapping mechanisms across the two tasks. Our findings suggest that EEG-based forensic memory detection tests are invalid in older populations, limiting their practical applications.

scholarly journals Towards a Gerontoludic Manifesto

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob De Schutter ◽  
Vero Vanden Abeele
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Physical Limitations ◽  
Game Industry

Digital games have become an important part of the technoscape, not only for youngsters, but for players of all ages. Older adults are a large, currently still largely untapped market for innovative game research and development. However, the current discourse on games and ageing can largely be categorized into two themes. The first theme refers to digital games framed as a way for older adults to improve certain skills. The useful, pragmatic qualities, rather than the fun, hedonic aspects of games are emphasized. The second theme identifies the various age-related constraints that prevent older adults from playing. It focuses on the cognitive and physical limitations of older adults. Underlying both themes is a reductionist perspective on ageing as merely a process of decline and debilitation. In this article, we present a “gerontoludic” manifesto. Firstly, games should not be marketed solely as having the purpose of dealing with or mitigating age-related decline and focus on positive aspects of older age (adagio 1: growth over decline). Secondly, age-related adjustments should never interfere with the actual gameplay of the game (adagio 2: playfulness over usefulness). Finally, game researchers and game industry should put more efforts in understanding what differentiates elderly players, rather than seeing them as united in their age-related impairments (adagio 3: heterogeneity over unification). As this manifesto is a first step that needs further abutment by a wider community, we welcome debate and additions from game designers and researchers to further this manifesto and to move beyond ageism in games.  

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