[Recall and reproduction of words: age-dependent activation of context information in recalling episodic memory...

Older people tend to have more problems with the retrieval of episodic memory contents than younger people. One hypothesis to explain this phenomenon refers to age deficits in activating specific pieces of contextual information concerning the learning episode. This hypothesis was submitted to an experimental test for 60 old (about 70 years) and 60 young (about 25 years) adults using the recognition failure paradigm. In this paradigm memory performance is assessed by a cued recall test as well as by an unexpected recognition test. The amount of recognition failure served as the central dependent variable; the length of the retention interval and a strategy instruction (given vs not given) were manipulated as independent variables. Various predictions were derived from the central hypothesis and from typical findings in the literature. They are tested by means of statistical hypotheses on planned a priori contrasts. On the whole, the results confirm the hypothesis concerning age deficits in activating context information during retrieval. Implications for models of gerontological changes in episodic memory are discussed within the framework of Tulving's Synergistic Ecphory model.