Generation and elaboration in older adults

This study examined the effects of elaborative processing in older adults using the same technique employed in an earlier study (Hashtroudi, Parker, DeLisi, & Wyatt, 1983) on acute alcohol amnesia. Older and younger adults either generated elaborators or were provided with elaborators. Elaborators were either precise or imprecise. Generation, in particular generation of precise elaborators, was effective in enhancing older subjects' level of recall and reducing age differences in memory. It is suggested that active involvement in elaborative processing enables older adults to take advantage of elaboration. Similarities and differences between memory decrements associated with aging and with alcohol intoxication are discussed.