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Updated: Oct 31, 2025
09:13
A Real-world What-Where-When Memory Test
Published on: May 16, 2017
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Effects of Age and Self-Performance on Memory for Who Did What
Alan W Kersten1, Julie L Earles2, Jennifer Walsh Brymer2
1Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, USA.
Summary
Older adults struggle more than young adults to differentiate between actions they performed and actions observed others perform. Self-performance of an action increases false memories for seeing others perform it, especially in older adults.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Neuroscience of memory
- Human development
Background:
- Memory accuracy is crucial for distinguishing self-experience from external events.
- Age-related cognitive changes can impact memory processes and source monitoring.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age differences in distinguishing self-performed actions from observed actions.
- To examine how performing an action influences memory for observing others perform it.
- To assess how observing an action influences memory for self-performance.
Main Methods:
- Young and older adults viewed videos of actors performing actions.
- Participants later performed some of the observed actions.
- Memory recall for actions was tested after a one-week delay.
Main Results:
- Older adults showed a greater tendency towards false memories of observing actions they had performed themselves.
- Young adults demonstrated superior ability in differentiating observed actions from self-performed actions.
- Both age groups exhibited difficulties in source memory for actions they had also performed.
Conclusions:
- Older adults exhibit a diminished capacity to discriminate between self-performed and other-performed actions compared to younger adults.
- Self-performance of actions can lead to confabulation and false memories of observation, particularly in older populations.
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