Aging, Source Memory, and Emotion

In 2 experiments we assessed younger and older adults' ability to remember contextual information about an event. Each experiment examined memory for 3 different types of contextual information: (a) perceptual information (e.g., location of an item); (b) conceptual, nonemotional information (e....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology and aging 2005-12, Vol.20 (4), p.571-578
Main Authors: May, Cynthia P, Rahhal, Tamara, Berry, Evan M, Leighton, Elizabeth A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Affect
Age Differences
Aged
Ageing
Aging
Aging - physiology
Emotions
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female
Human
Humans
Male
Memory
Middle Aged
Older people
Source memory
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young adults
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Summary:In 2 experiments we assessed younger and older adults' ability to remember contextual information about an event. Each experiment examined memory for 3 different types of contextual information: (a) perceptual information (e.g., location of an item); (b) conceptual, nonemotional information (e.g., quality of an item); and (c) conceptual, emotional information (e.g., safety of an item). Consistent with a large literature on aging and source memory, younger adults outperformed older adults when the contextual information was perceptual in nature and when it was conceptual, but not emotional. Age differences in source memory were eliminated, however, when participants recalled emotional source information. These findings suggest that emotional information differentially engages older adults, possibly evoking enhanced elaborations and associations. The data are also consistent with a growing literature, suggesting that emotional processing remains stable with age (e.g., Carstensen & Turk-Charles, 1994 , 1998 ; Isaacowitz, Charles, & Carstensen, 2000 ).
ISSN:0882-7974
1939-1498
DOI:10.1037/0882-7974.20.4.571