Young and elderly adults were compared for recall performance on simple digit and word spans (traditional tests of primary memory), versus a "loaded" auditory word span test designed to emphasize working memory capacity. Although digit spans were identical for the two age groups, there were small but significant age differences in word span, and even larger differences in working memory performance. An analysis of correlations between span measures and verbal ability scores supported the position that working memory loading represents a special problem for the elderly.

This report describes sentence-final word completion norms for 119 sentence contexts based on the original sentence completion norms of Bloom and Fischler (1980). Four sets of norms are made available for 358 adults, representing young, middle-aged, young-old, and old-old samples. Notable in these norms is a high degree of consistency in responses among all four age samples. Differences in relation to the original Bloom and Fischler norms appear in responses to low contextually constraining sentences. Results show that the recency with which normative data are collected is an important variable to consider when making use of norms.

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Young and elderly adults heard recorded passages of English prose spoken with and without normal prosody, and passages that were devoid of either linguistic or prosodic structure. Subjects were instructed to interrupt the speech input at points of their choosing for immediate recall on a segment-by-segment basis. For both age groups segmentation strategies varied with type of speech materials as did their levels of recall accuracy. Age differences in recall performance were diminished by the presence of normal prosody, an effect only partially attributable to the use of prosody to detect linguistic boundaries at the surface level.

These findings can inform Cambodian mental health policies and development strategies, especially targeting the most vulnerable groups.