Objective: Although the effect of aging on episodic memory is relatively well studied, little is known about how aging influences metamemory. In addition, while executive function (EF) is known to mediate the age-related decline in episodic memory, the role of metamemory in aging-related memory differences beyond EF remains unknown. This study aimed to elucidate the effect of aging on metamemory and to clarify the role of metamemory in the age-related decline in memory. Method: One hundred and four adults aged 18–79 years (50 M, 54 F) performed several EF tasks, as well as a face-scene paired-associate learning task that required them to make judgments of learning, feeling-of-knowing judgments, and retrospective confidence judgments. Results: Aging was significantly associated with poor metamemory accuracy and increased confidence across metamemory judgment types, even after controlling for EF and memory performance. A parallel mediation analysis indicated that both confidence of learning and EF performance had significant partial mediation effects on the relationship between aging and memory, albeit in different ways. Specifically, poor EF explained the age-related decline in memory, whereas increased confidence of learning served to compensate for this memory decline. Conclusions: Aging is associated with general changes (i.e., poor inferences from cues) rather than specific changes (i.e., declined activation or utilization of certain cues) in metamemory monitoring. Also, changes in confidence of learning and in EF ability contribute to the preservation and decline of memory during aging, respectively. Therefore, boosting confidence during encoding and enhancing EF skills might be complementary memory intervention strategies for older adults.

中文翻译：

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元记忆和执行功能介导与年龄相关的记忆衰退

目的：虽然衰老对情景记忆的影响研究相对充分，但人们对衰老如何影响元记忆知之甚少。此外，虽然已知执行功能（EF）可以介导与年龄相关的情景记忆衰退，但元记忆在 EF 之外的与衰老相关的记忆差异中的作用仍然未知。本研究旨在阐明衰老对元记忆的影响，并阐明元记忆在与年龄相关的记忆衰退中的作用。方法：104 名 18-79 岁的成年人（50 M，54 F）执行多项 EF 任务，以及面部场景配对联想学习任务，要求他们对学习、知感做出判断判断和回顾性置信度判断。结果：即使在控制了 EF 和记忆表现之后，衰老与元记忆准确性差和元记忆判断类型的置信度增加显着相关。平行中介分析表明，学习信心和 EF 表现对衰老和记忆之间的关系具有显着的部分中介作用，尽管方式不同。具体来说，较差的 EF 解释了与年龄相关的记忆力下降，而学习信心的增强则可以弥补这种记忆力下降。结论：衰老与元记忆监测中的一般变化（即，根据线索推断不佳）相关，而不是与特定变化（即，某些线索的激活或利用下降）相关。此外，学习信心和 EF 能力的变化分别有助于衰老过程中记忆的保存和衰退。因此，在编码过程中增强信心和增强 EF 技能可能是老年人记忆干预策略的补充。