Age Effects in Implicit Memory: The Role of Response Competition Induced by Relative Word Frequency

This study examined the effect of age and response competition on implicit memory performance.

Younger and older adults studied high- and low-frequency words and took a word stem completion test that could be completed with multiple solutions. To manipulate response competition, the test list consisted of word stems that could be completed with target low-frequency words, as well as multiple other solutions with higher frequencies than the target (the high response competition condition) and word stems that could be completed with target high-frequency words, as well as multiple other solutions with lower frequencies than the target (the low response competition condition).

Relative to younger adults, older adults showed reduced levels of priming only under conditions of high response competition (low-frequency targets with high-frequency competitors).

In support of a response competition mechanism, older adults were more likely to complete stems with nonstudied high-frequency solutions than were younger adults. Results demonstrate that older adults have reduced priming compared with younger adults under some conditions of high response competition.