Age differences in components of metamemory

Young adults (N = 58) and older adults (N = 55) answered 30 questions extracted from three dimensions of the Metamemory in Adulthood (MIA) questionnaire: Capacity, Task and Strategy. The older participants scored significantly lower on the Capacity dimension, indicating that they report having greater difficulty in everyday memory situations. There was no age difference on any item in the Task dimension; both groups were equally knowledgeable about memory task demands. Responses to Strategy items varied with type of strategy: younger adults were more likely than older adults to report the use of encoding strategies, while older adults reported significantly more use of strategies which involved planning and organization. A further group of employed young adults (N = 26) was added to clarify the respective roles of aging and environmental demands on strategy use. The findings suggest that both changes in lifestyle and the effects of aging per se play some part in the use of particular memory strategies.