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Adult age differences in strategy use during verbal fluency performance.
1CSIRO, Health Sciences and Nutrition, Adelaide, SA, Australia. hughes@csiro.au
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
|August 21, 2002
Summary
Older adults show age differences in verbal fluency strategy use. Executive functions and processing speed impact performance, especially in older individuals, influencing word recall strategies.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
Background:
- Verbal fluency tasks assess word retrieval abilities.
- Age-related cognitive changes can impact strategy use in older adults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age differences in strategy use during verbal fluency tasks.
- To examine the role of cognitive processes in predicting verbal fluency performance across adult age groups.
Main Methods:
- Sixty older and 60 younger adults completed verbal fluency tasks (initial and excluded letter).
- Strategies assessed included clustering and switching.
- Cognitive predictors included verbal ability, processing speed, and executive functions.
Main Results:
- The number of clusters produced explained age differences in excluded-letter fluency.
- Both fluency tasks were associated with clustering and switching.
- Initial-letter fluency correlated with cluster size (older adults) and effective search ratio (both groups).
- Verbal ability and articulation speed were crucial for both tasks.
- Excluded-letter fluency relied more on speed and executive function, particularly in older adults.
Conclusions:
- Strategy use, specifically clustering and switching, plays a significant role in verbal fluency performance.
- Cognitive abilities like processing speed and executive function are critical for effective verbal fluency, with greater reliance observed in older adults for certain tasks.