Adult age differences in explanations and memory for behavioral information.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Human Memory

Background:

• Knowledge-based expectations influence memory processing and recall.
• Age-related differences exist in cognitive strategies and memory performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate age differences in how knowledge-based expectations affect memory.
• To examine the role of integrative memory processes and recall in younger and older adults.
• To determine if spontaneous explanation generation mediates age-related memory differences.

Main Methods:

• Participants: Young and older adults.
• Task: Impression-formation involving lists of behaviors varying in trait consistency.
• Measures: Recall of behaviors, spontaneous explanation generation for behaviors.

Main Results:

• Younger adults showed a memory advantage for trait-inconsistent behaviors over consistent ones.
• Older adults did not exhibit this consistency effect in recall.
• The age difference in the consistency effect was linked to younger adults generating more explanations for inconsistent behaviors.

Conclusions:

• Spontaneous explanation generation enhances memory for inconsistent information in younger adults.
• Age differences in memory consistency effects are mediated by explanation-based processing.
• Controlling for explanation use eliminates age-related discrepancies in memory consistency.