Things learned in early adulthood are remembered best

Evidence is reviewed that for older adults the period from 10 to 30 years of age produces recall of the most autobiographical memories, the most vivid memories, and the most important memories. It is the period from which peoples' favorite films, music, and books come and the period from which...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Memory & cognition 1998, Vol.26 (1), p.3-19
Main Authors: RUBIN, D. C, RAHHAL, T. A, POON, L. W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academy awards
Adolescent
Adult
Adult. Elderly
Adults
Age Factors
Aged
Aging
Aging - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Childhood
Cognition
Cognition & reasoning
Cognition - physiology
Developmental psychology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Learning - physiology
Memory
Memory - physiology
Middle Aged
Older people
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Semantics
Theory
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Summary:Evidence is reviewed that for older adults the period from 10 to 30 years of age produces recall of the most autobiographical memories, the most vivid memories, and the most important memories. It is the period from which peoples' favorite films, music, and books come and the period from which they judge the most important world events to have originated. Factual, semantic, general-knowledge, multiple-choice questions about the Academy Awards, the World Series, and current events from this period were answered more accurately by two different groups of 30 older adults tested 10 years apart. A cognitive theory based on the importance of transitions and several noncognitive theories are considered as explanations of this pervasive phenomenon.
ISSN:0090-502X
1532-5946
DOI:10.3758/bf03211366