ABSTRACT

While often showing associative memory deficits, there may be instances when older adults selectively remember important associative information. We presented younger and older adults with children they would be hypothetically babysitting, and each child had three preferences: a food they like, a food they dislike, and a food they are allergic to and must avoid. In Experiment 1, all foods associated with each child were simultaneously presented while in Experiments 2 and 3, participants self-regulated their study of the different preferences for each child. We were interested in whether people, particularly older adults who often display associative memory impairments, can prioritize the most important information with consequences for forgetting (i.e., allergies), especially with increased task experience. Overall, compared with younger adults, older adults were better at selectively studying and recalling the children’s allergies relative to the other preferences, and these patterns increased with task experience. Together, the present results suggest that both younger and older adults can employ strategies that enhance the recall of important information, illustrating responsible remembering. Specifically, both younger and older adults can learn to self-assess and prioritize the information that they need to remember, and despite memory deficits, older adults can learn to employ strategies that enhance the recall of important information, using metacognition and goal-directed remembering to engage in responsible remembering.

摘要

虽然经常表现出联想记忆缺陷，但在某些情况下，老年人可能会选择性地记住重要的联想信息。我们向年轻人和老年人展示了他们假设要照顾的孩子，每个孩子都有三种偏好：他们喜欢的食物，他们不喜欢的食物，以及他们过敏且必须避免的食物。在实验 1 中，与每个孩子相关的所有食物同时呈现，而在实验 2 和 3 中，参与者对每个孩子的不同偏好进行自我调节研究。我们感兴趣的是，人们，尤其是经常表现出联想记忆障碍的老年人，是否可以优先考虑最重要的信息，从而导致遗忘（即过敏），尤其是在任务经验增加的情况下。总体而言，与年轻人相比，老年人相对于其他偏好更善于选择性地研究和回忆儿童的过敏，并且这些模式随着任务经验的增加而增加。总之，目前的结果表明，年轻人和老年人都可以采取策略来增强对重要信息的回忆，从而说明负责任的记忆。具体来说，年轻人和老年人都可以学会自我评估并优先考虑他们需要记住的信息，尽管存在记忆缺陷，老年人可以学会采用元认知和目标导向记忆来增强对重要信息的回忆的策略进行负责任的记忆。