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Do judgments of learning modify older adults' actual learning?
Sarah K Tauber1, Amber E Witherby1
1Department of Psychology.
Psychology and Aging
|July 2, 2019
Summary
Judgments of learning (JOLs) did not improve older adults' memory for word pairs. Younger adults showed improved recall when making JOLs, suggesting age-related processing differences impact learning strategies.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience of Aging
Background:
- Judgments of learning (JOLs) enhance associative learning in younger adults by strengthening cue-target relationships.
- Learning interventions that improve associations are often beneficial for older adults' memory.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the direct influence of JOLs on older adults' associative learning.
- To compare the effects of JOLs on memory performance in older versus younger adults.
Main Methods:
- Older and younger adults studied related or weakly related word pairs.
- Participants either made a JOL for each pair or did not.
- Cued-recall memory was tested after a 3-minute retention interval.
Main Results:
- Older adults' memory performance was not affected by making JOLs.
- Younger adults who made JOLs demonstrated significantly better recall than those who did not.
- JOLs did not enhance associative learning in the older adult group.
Conclusions:
- Age-related processing deficits may limit the effectiveness of JOLs in strengthening cue-target relationships for older adults.
- Alternative explanations include JOLs promoting attentional reorienting, which may not benefit older adults.
- Future research should explore these potential mechanisms underlying age differences in JOL effectiveness.
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