Schematic support increases memory strategy use in young and older adults

Area of Science:

• Cognitive psychology
• Neuroscience
• Human development

Background:

• Learning involves a shift from algorithmic to retrieval processing.
• Older adults often show a slower shift and reluctance to use retrieval strategies.
• Age-related differences in retrieval strategy use are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if older adults' retrieval reluctance stems from avoidance or low confidence.
• To examine the role of prior knowledge and schematic support in retrieval strategy use.
• To compare retrieval strategy shifts in young and older adults across different learning tasks.

Main Methods:

• Participants completed two learning tasks: Noun-Pair Lookup and Grocery-Price Lookup.
• The Grocery-Price Lookup task used market-priced (familiar) and overpriced (unfamiliar) materials.
• Retrieval use and accuracy were measured to assess strategy shifts.

Main Results:

• Older adults replicated retrieval reluctance on the Noun-Pair task.
• In the Grocery-Price task, older adults shifted to retrieval sooner for familiar items.
• Confidence in retrieval significantly impacted strategy use in both age groups.

Conclusions:

• Retrieval reluctance is influenced by confidence in memory, not solely age.
• Familiarity and schematic support can mitigate age-related differences in retrieval.
• Confidence plays a crucial role in strategy selection for learning and memory.