Aging and Memory
Objective 11-3
Cognitive Development: Does aging effect out
cognitive abilities such as memory, creativity, and
intelligence?
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As we age, we remember some things well.
Looking back in later years, people mostly remember the
recent happenings but also
things from their teens and twenties.
*Our teens and twenties are also the time when we
experience so many of life’s
memorable “first’s” -- first
date, first job,
first going to college, first introductions.
Thomas Crook and Robin West Experiment of 1990.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Resignation study.
David Schonfield and Betty-Anne Robertson Experiment of
1966.
Cognitive Development:
Continued…
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Early adulthood is a peak time for some types of
learning and memory recollection.
Younger adults have better memory recognition but
both young adults and older adults have no memory
decline in recognition.
*Unless given a jolt of caffeine, memory
recognition is better for older adults early in the
day rather than late.
If asked to recall meaningless information, older
adults are more likely to make errors.
*Older people’s capacity to learn and remember
skills also decline less than their verbal recall.
Cognitive Development:
Continued…
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Prospective memory (“Remember to...”) remains strong when
events help trigger memories.
*Walking to a convenience store triggers a “...pickup milk”
memory.
Time- based tasks (“Remembering the 3 P.M. meeting”) is more
challenging for older adults to remember.
*Habitual tasks are more challenging when they need to
remember to take medications.
Right through our later years, we continue to diverge.
Twenty-year-olds differ widely in their abilities to learn and
remember, but 70-year-olds differ much more.
*Some 70-year-olds perform below nearly all 20-year-olds;
other 70-year-olds match or out do the average 20-yearold.