Primed word‐fragment completion and successive memory test performance in normal aging

Abstract

Young and old subjects were investigated to examine whether: the effects of priming are influenced by aging; there is independence between primed word-fragment completion and recognition performances; and the dependence between different tests is influenced by aging. A successive test paradigm was employed involving repeated assessment of to-be-remembered words by means of recognition and primed word-fragment completion. The results show that implicit memory declines with increasing age, and that correlations between different memory tests decrease with age. The outcome suggests that age-related memory decline involves several forms of memory, including primed word-fragment completion, and is reflected in correlations between measures of implicit and explicit memory.

Age Differences in Implicit Interference

“…An effect size of 0.2 is considered as small, 0.5 as medium, and 0.8 as large; see Cohen, 1988. ) Replicating the findings of others using word-fragment completion (e.g., Jelicic, Craik, & Moscovitch, 1996;Light, Singh, & Capps, 1986; but see Karlsson, Adolfsson, Borjesson, & Nilsson, 2003 for a report of age differences in fragment completion, 1 and Light, Kennison, & Healy, 2002 for mixed results), we did not detect age differences in priming. In addition, the effect size for age differences was small, as has been reported for implicit word-fragment completion in metaanalyses (La Voie & Light, 1994;Light & La Voie, 1993;Light et al, 2000).…”

Structural Priming Is Supported By Different Components Of Non-Declarative Memory: Evidence From Priming Across The Lifespan

“…Our results contribute substantially to the broader question of age-related changes in factor was that previous studies would directly compare younger participant groups to older groups, with the average age of the older participants varying from early 60's (Howard, Heisey, & Shaw, 1986;Neger, Rietveld, & Janse, 2014;Schugens, Daum, Spindler, & Birbaumer, 2007) to late 80s (Davidson, Zacks, & Ferreira, 2003;Davis et al, 1990;Karlsson, Adolfsson, Börjesson, & Nilsson, 2003;Light, Kennison, & Healy, 2002;Light, La Voie, Valencia-Laver, Albertson Owens, & Mead, 1992). In our study, we therefore opted for a longitudinal design, and tested participants between 20 -85 years.…”

“…However, a review of behavioural studies looking at the aging effect of conceptual and/or perceptual studies draws equivocal conclusions. This is mainly due to different experimental designs: Most aging studies take a younger age group (on average 25 years) and compares it directly to an older age group, which can vary from early 60's (Howard, Heisey, & Shaw, 1986;Neger, Rietveld, & Janse, 2014;Schugens, Daum, Spindler, & Birbaumer, 2007) to late 80's (Davidson, Zacks, & Ferreira, 2003;Davis et al, 1990;Karlsson, Adolfsson, Börjesson, & Nilsson, 2003;Light, Kennison, & Healy, 2002;Light, La Voie, Valencia-Laver, Albertson Owens, & Mead, 1992). Especially at the older age group, it is unclear at what point non-declarative memory may start to decline, which may explain why some find a significant difference with the younger age group and others do not.…”

Structural priming is supported by different components of nondeclarative memory: Evidence from priming across the lifespan.

“…However, a review of behavioral studies looking at the aging effect of conceptual and/or perceptual studies draws equivocal conclusions. This is mainly due to different experimental designs: Most aging studies take a younger age group (on average 25 years) and compares it directly with an older age group, which can vary from early 60’s (Howard, Heisey, & Shaw, 1986; Neger, Rietveld, & Janse, 2014; Schugens, Daum, Spindler, & Birbaumer, 2007) to late 80’s (Davidson, Zacks, & Ferreira, 2003; Davis et al, 1990; Karlsson, Adolfsson, Börjesson, & Nilsson, 2003; Light, Kennison, & Healy, 2002; Light, LaVoie, Valencia-Laver, Owens, & Mead, 1992). Especially at the older age group, it is unclear at what point nondeclarative memory may start to decline, which may explain why some find a significant difference with the younger age group and others do not.…”