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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
06:58

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing

Published on: January 24, 2020

Ageing and the self-reference effect in memory.

Angela H Gutchess1, Elizabeth A Kensinger, Carolyn Yoon

  • 1Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, MA, USA. gutchess@brandeis.edu

Memory (Hove, England)
|November 23, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Older adults show a self-reference effect in memory, but it is less pronounced than in young adults. Cognitive resources and strategy flexibility limit the benefits of self-referencing for older adults.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human Development

Background:

  • The self-reference effect (SRE) demonstrates enhanced memory recall for information processed in relation to the self.
  • Aging is associated with cognitive changes that may impact memory performance and the efficacy of mnemonic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate age-related differences in the self-reference effect.
  • To examine how cognitive resources and strategy flexibility influence the SRE in older adults.

Main Methods:

  • Incidental encoding of adjectives using self-referential and non-self-referential tasks (e.g., describing self, desirable trait, another person, uppercase).
  • Recognition memory tests administered to young and older adult participants.
  • Analysis of memory performance based on encoding task and age group.

Main Results:

  • Both young and older adults exhibited a self-reference effect, with superior recognition for self-referenced items.
  • The SRE was less pronounced in older adults, and self-referencing did not equate their memory performance to that of young adults.
  • Cognitive resource availability moderated the benefits of self-referencing for older adults, who also showed less flexible strategy use.

Conclusions:

  • Self-referencing enhances memory in older adults, but its benefits are limited compared to young adults.
  • Cognitive resource limitations and reduced strategy flexibility contribute to the circumscribed SRE in older age.
  • Despite the personally relevant nature of self-referencing, its mnemonic advantages are constrained in older adults.