Influences of intentionality at encoding and retrieval on memory in adulthood and old age

This research investigated whether different memory functions are differentially affected by the adult aging process. Four groups of normal adults (18-35, 60-68, 69-78, and 79-91 years of age) were presented with a set of pictures of faces with first names and surnames. Subjects were instructed to memorize the faces and the surnames for subsequent memory tests. Memory performance was assessed in four ways: stem completion of surnames; recognition of faces; recognition of surnames and recognition of first names. These memory tests varied in terms of intentionality at encoding and retrieval. The stem completion task involved intention at encoding, but not at retrieval, and thus served as a measure of implicit memory. With respect to the three explicit memory tasks, recognition of faces and surnames involved intention at both encoding and retrieval, whereas recognition of first names involved intention at retrieval, but not at encoding. Results indicated no age-related differences in implicit memory, as assessed by the stem completion test. In addition, there was an age-related deficit in recognition of faces and surnames, although there were no age-related differences in recognition of first names. The overall pattern of results suggests that age-related deficits in memory may be most likely to occur when there are demands of conscious mental activity at encoding and retrieval.