Memory for associative information in younger and - Alan Castel

156 Pages·2013·0.6 MB·English

by  Psychology Department

MEMORY FOR ASSOCIATIVE INFORMATION
IN YOUNGER AND OLDER ADULTS

by

Alan D. Castel

A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Graduate Department of Psychology
University of Toronto

© Copyright by Alan D. Castel (2004)
MEMORY FOR ASSOCIATIVE INFORMATION
IN YOUNGER AND OLDER ADULTS
Alan D. Castel
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
Ph.D. 2004
Abstract
The present series of experiments examined how aging and divided attention
influence memory for item and associative information in a variety of contexts. Previous
research has suggested that one reason for older adults’ poorer episodic memory is an
impairment in processing and retaining associative information. To examine this, older
adults, younger adults, and younger adults under various divided attention conditions
studied unrelated word pairs for a later recognition memory test of both single words and
different combinations of word pairs (Experiments 1-3). Both older and younger divided
attention adults performed less well than the full attention group, with the deficit in
associative information being greater than the deficit in item information. In addition, a
differentially greater associative impairment was found for the older adults, as shown by
their heightened tendency to make false alarm responses to re-paired (conjunction)
distracters. These findings are interpreted in a dual-process model of recognition
memory, in which older adults rely more on familiarity rather than recollection when
processing associative information.
The ability to remember other types of associative information was further
examined by using cued recall tests of associative memory that varied in terms of the
degree of specificity. In these experiments (Experiments 4-6), participants studied items
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that were paired with either related or unrelated units of information, as well as specific
numerical information (either quantity or price information). Although older adults had
the greatest difficulty remembering specific arbitrary associations, this impairment was
reduced when associations were made meaningful (as a result of expertise) or contained a
certain degree of schematic support. These results are discussed in terms of how prior
knowledge and evaluative processing can influence associative memory, and suggest that
a framework of associative memory that emphasizes different levels of associative
specificity is necessary to interpret how older adults access associative information. The
overall pattern of results imply that observations of age-related differences in memory for
associative information depend on differences in available attentional resources, grain
size (degree of precision) analyses at both encoding and retrieval, schematic support, and
the meaningfulness and specificity of the association.

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Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincere thanks to my advisor Fergus Craik for his
expertise, guidance and generosity throughout my graduate training. I would also like to
thank Jay Pratt for his constant support and advice, and Lynn Hasher for her insight and
guidance. I appreciate the helpful comments and suggestions from Rose Zacks and
Nicole Anderson. I am also very grateful to the many members of the laboratory and
department that made this research possible and enjoyable. Finally, I would like to
especially thank my family and friends, who have provided continuous support and
encouragement.

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Table of Contents
Abstract ii
Acknowledgements iv
Table of Contents v
List of Tables viii
List of Figures ix
List of Appendices x
Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………….. 1
A Review of Memory and Aging Research………………………………….. 1
Distinctions between Item and Associative Memory………………………… 3
Previous Examinations of Associative Memory Impairments……………….. 6
Reduced Resources and Memory for Associations…………………………. 9
Overview of Current Research……………………………………………….11
Chapter 2: Divided Attention and Memory for Associative Information……… 13
Introduction………………………………………………………………….. 13
Experiment 1………………………………………………………………… 15
Experiment 1A………………………………………………………… 15
Method…………………………………………………………….. 15
Results and Discussion……………………………………………. 19
Experiment 1B………………………………………………………… 27
Method…………………………………………………………….. 28
Results and Discussion……………………………………………. 28

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Experiment 2……………………………………………………………….... 31
Experiment 2A………………………………………………………… 31
Method…………………………………………………………….. 33
Results and Discussion……………………………………………. 34
Experiment 2B………………………………………………………… 36
Method…………………………………………………………….. 37
Results and Discussion……………………………………………. 37
Experiment 3……………………………………………………………….... 39
Method…………………………………………………………….. 42
Results and Discussion……………………………………………. 44
General Discussion and Summary…………………………………………... 48
Chapter 3: Binding and Memory for Numerical Information………………….. 55
Introduction………………………………………………………………….. 55
Experiment 4………………………………………………………………… 59
Method…………………………………………………………….. 60
Results and Discussion……………………………………………. 62
Experiment 5………………………………………………………………… 66
Method…………………………………………………………….. 67
Results and Discussion……………………………………………. 69
Experiment 6………………………………………………………………… 73
Method……………………………………………………………. 76
Results and Discussion……………………………………………. 78
General Discussion and Summary…………………………………………... 81
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Chapter 4: General Discussion, Theoretical Contributions, and Implications… 84
General Summary…………………………………………………………… 84
Mechanisms of Associative Memory in Older Adults………………………. 85
Memory for Gist and Specific Information in Older Adults………………... 90
Prior Knowledge, Expertise and Memory for Associations………………… 94
Grain Size, Associative Memory, and Aging………………………….….... 97
Situated Levels of Associative Memory (SLAM) Framework ……………. 99
Summary and Conclusions………………………………………………… 106
References………………………………………………………………………… 109
Tables……………………………………………………………………………… 128
Figures…………………………………………………………………………….. 131
Appendices………………………………………………………………………… 145

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List of Tables
Table Page
2.1 Mean Proportion of “Old” Responses in the Word Pair and Item 128
Recognition Test for Experiments 1A and 1B

2.2 Mean Proportion of “Old” Responses in the Word Pair Recognition Test 129
for Experiments 2A and 2B

2.3 Mean Proportion of “Old” Responses in the Word Pair Recognition 130
Test for Experiment 3

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List of Figures
Figure Page
2.1 Memory Performance (Word Pairs) in Experiment 1A 131
2.2 Memory Performance (Single Words) in Experiment 1A 132
2.3 Discriminability Analysis for Experiment 1A 133
2.4 Memory Performance (Word Pairs) in Experiment 2A 134
2.5 Discriminability Analysis for Experiment 2B 135
2.6 Memory Performance (Word Pairs) in Experiment 3 136
2.7 Discriminability Analysis for Experiment 3 137
2.8 Discriminability as a Function of Corrected Hit Rate for Experiments 1-3 138
3.1 Schematic Outline of Experiment 4 139
3.2 Correct Recall for Numbers and Objects in Experiment 4 140
3.3 Correct Recall of Prices in Experiment 5 141
3.4 Deviation of Incorrect Responses in Experiment 5 142
3.5 Correct Recall of Prices in Experiment 6 143
3.6 Correct Value Category Recall in Experiment 6 144

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List of Appendices
Appendix Page
3.1 Phrases used in Experiment 4 145
3.2 Examples of Items and Prices used in Experiments 5 and 6 146

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