Self-generated mnemonics for enhancing free recall performance in older learners

Abstract

The effectiveness of self-generated mnemonic strategies for free-recall list learning was examined in 94 older community-dwelling adults. Participants were presented with a list of 19 nouns and were given seven minutes to commit the list to memory with three minutes for recall. Performance was measured immediately following recall and after a 2-day delay. Forty-five percent of the participants reported using a specific organizational mnemonic encoding strategy to facilitate recall. At both immediate and delayed recall, those individuals who reported using a well-articulated mnemonic outperformed those reporting the use of repetition or making simple associations. The results suggest that many older adults can spontaneously generate specific elaborative encoding strategies and that pre-existing encoding skills should be assessed prior to remedial memory training for older adults.

You can go your own way: effectiveness of participant-driven versus experimenter-driven processing strategies in memory training and transfer

“…We also found that pre-existing ability influenced training gains even when encoding instructions were experimenter-controlled, and that a variable at least as important as how “effective” a memory strategy was deemed to be is whether a memory strategy was mandated or self-selected. There were hints of these effects in our preliminary data (Lustig & Flegal, 2008), and they are consistent with previous research associating self-generated strategies with superior memory performance in older adults (Derwinger, et al, 2005; Derwinger, et al, 2003; Hill, et al, 1990). Of interest, earlier studies have reported that older adults benefit as much from extended practice on a task involving attention to contextual cues as from explicit strategy training (Paxton et al, 2006), and that older adults in an enforced encoding time condition perform better on a serial recall task than a self-paced group instructed to maximize accuracy by taking as much encoding time as necessary, and even outperform a self-paced group given explicit strategy training to improve their accuracy (Murphy et al, 1981).…”

“…An open question, then, is what determines how and when older adults will spontaneously produce effective memory strategies? Evidence suggests that self-generated strategies are at least as beneficial for older adults as mnemonics provided by an experimenter (Baltes, et al, 1989; Derwinger, et al, 2003; Hill, et al, 1990). Derwinger and colleagues (2005) trained older adults in a number memory task and followed up after a delay of 8 months.…”

“…An understudied question in cognitive training research is whether environmental support itself (such as conditions that encourage sufficient time and effort at encoding) can prompt older adults to engage individualized strategies that will benefit memory performance. This is an important consideration for the development of training interventions to maintain or enhance cognitive fitness late into the lifespan, as some evidence suggests that older adults’ self-generated processing strategies can be at least as effective as experimenter-provided mnemonics (Baltes, Sowarka, & Kliegl, 1989; Derwinger et al, 2003; Hill, Allen, & Gregory, 1990) and may produce long-lasting benefits which are less dependent on environmental support (Derwinger, Stigsdotter Neely, & Bäckman, 2005). …”

Impact of Carotid Endarterectomy upon Cognitive Functioning

“…With repeated exposure to the same test, even when a parallel version is used, many subjects develop strategies to enhance their speed and/or accuracy on the test [39]. This issue is important in that the expectation on performance, without any specific effects of the surgery, should be towards improvement through practice.…”

Cognitive Strategy Use and Measured Numeric Ability in Immediate- and Long-Term Recall of Everyday Numeric Information

“…Several factors including an individual’s facility and expertise with numbers enhance how numerical information is learned and subsequently retrieved [3], [4]. Research has consistently found that using cognitive strategies improves immediate and long-term recall [5], [6]. Therefore, exploring how individuals engage in memorizing every-day number information will assist with understanding, at a fundamental level, how strategies and numeric abilities enhance number-learning outcomes as separate and interactive processes.…”