Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Working memory resource allocation by young, middle-aged, and old adults

P W Foos1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte 28223, USA.

Experimental Aging Research
|July 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Effect of presentation order on the construction of linear orders.

Memory & cognition·2013
Same author

Adult age differences in semantic and episodic memory.

The Journal of genetic psychology·1998
Same author

Adult age differences in the storage of information in working memory.

Experimental aging research·1992
Same author

Age differences in memory for two common objects.

Journal of gerontology·1989
Same author

Adult age differences in working memory.

Psychology and aging·1989
Same author

Using sentences to convey spatial information.

Journal of psycholinguistic research·1983

Older adults show age-related working memory decline due to reduced resource allocation, not separate processing or storage deficits. Middle-aged adults performed similarly to younger adults.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human Aging Research

Background:

  • Working memory capacity declines with age, impacting daily task performance.
  • The precise locus of age-related working memory deficits remains debated, with theories focusing on resource allocation versus specific processing/storage limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the underlying mechanisms of age-related working memory differences.
  • To test three competing hypotheses concerning the locus of these age-related deficits.

Main Methods:

  • An experiment involving young, middle-aged, and old adults performing a dual-task: remembering names and mental addition.
  • Manipulation of task importance instructions to assess resource allocation flexibility.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Results strongly support the hypothesis of a generalized age-related deficit in a single, shared pool of cognitive resources.
  • Evidence did not support models positing separate pools for processing and storage.
  • Middle-aged adults demonstrated performance comparable to young adults, outperforming older adults.

Conclusions:

  • Age-related working memory decline is best explained by a reduced capacity in a general resource pool available for task allocation.
  • Cognitive aging does not appear to stem from isolated deficits in processing or storage mechanisms.
  • Intervention strategies could focus on optimizing resource allocation in older adults.