Memory plasticity across the life span: Uncovering children's latent potential
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Memory plasticity, or the ability to improve one's memory performance through instruction and training, is known to decline during adulthood. However, direct comparisons among middle childhood, adulthood, and old age are lacking. The authors examined memory plasticity in an age-comparative multisession training study. One hundred and eight participants ages 9-10, 11-12, 20-25, and 65-78 years learned and practiced an imagery-based mnemonic technique to encode and retrieve words by location cues. Individuals of all ages were able to acquire and optimize use of the technique. Older adults and children showed similar baseline performance and improvement through mnemonic instruction. However, in line with tenets from life-span psychology (P. B. Baltes, 1987), children profited more from mnemonic practice and reached higher levels of final performance than did older adults.
Details
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 465-478 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Developmental psychology |
Volume | 43 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2007 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
Externally published | Yes |
External IDs
PubMed | 17352553 |
---|---|
ORCID | /0000-0001-8409-5390/work/142254948 |
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Keywords
- Aging, Child development, Episodic memory, Lifespan, Memory plasticity and training