More or less the same? A memorability analysis on episodic memory tasks in young and older adults

Abstract

A relative memorability analysis was conducted on a young (19.5 years, n = 48) and an old (67.0 years, n = 45) age group, using 10 episodic memory tasks (four lists of words, four lists of paired associates, and two texts). Probability of recall of individual items (lists) or idea units (texts) by the older adults could be predicted from probability of recall for the corresponding items or idea units by the young adults, with a median correlation (corrected for test unreliability) of .88. It was found that the same item characteristics predicted recall probability of individual items or idea units in both age groups. For lists of words and texts, no differences were found in the slopes of the regression functions relating item characteristics to recall probability in the two age groups. For 3 of 4 lists of paired associates, the slopes for item characteristics significantly predicting recall probability were reliably larger for the older adults as compared with the young adults. It can be concluded that age differences in deliberate recall are to a large amount quantitative, and not qualitative, in nature.