Improving associative memory in older adults with unitization

We examined if unitization inherent preexperimentally could reduce the associative deficit in older adults. In Experiment 1, younger and older adults studied compound word (CW; e.g., store keeper) and noncompound word (NCW; e.g., needle birth) pairs. We found a reduction in the age-related associati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 2015-07, Vol.22 (4), p.452-472
Main Authors: Ahmad, Fahad N., Fernandes, Myra, Hockley, William E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
age-related associative deficit
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging - psychology
Association Learning
associative recognition
compound word pairs
familiarity
Female
Humans
Male
Memory
Middle Aged
Recognition (Psychology)
schematic support
two-alternative forced-choice test
unitization
Word Association Tests
Young Adult
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Summary:We examined if unitization inherent preexperimentally could reduce the associative deficit in older adults. In Experiment 1, younger and older adults studied compound word (CW; e.g., store keeper) and noncompound word (NCW; e.g., needle birth) pairs. We found a reduction in the age-related associative deficit such that older but not younger adults showed a discrimination advantage for CW relative to NCW pairs on a yes-no associative recognition test. These results suggest that CW compared to NCW word pairs provide schematic support that older adults can use to improve their memory. In Experiment 2, reducing study time in younger adults decreased associative recognition performance, but did not produce a discrimination advantage for CW pairs. In Experiment 3, both older and younger adults showed a discrimination advantage for CW pairs on a two-alternative forced-choice recognition test, which encourages greater use of familiarity. These results suggest that test format influenced young adults' use of familiarity during associative recognition of unitized pairs, and that older adults rely more on familiarity than recollection for associative recognition. Unitization of preexperimental associations, as in CW pairs, can alleviate age-related associative deficits.
ISSN:1382-5585
1744-4128
DOI:10.1080/13825585.2014.980216