Aging and Memory

13-2 How does memory change with age?

Among the most intriguing developmental psychology questions is whether adult cognitive abilities, such as memory, intelligence, and creativity, parallel the gradually accelerating decline of physical abilities.

As we age, we remember some things well. Looking back in later life, adults asked to recall the one or two most important events over the last half-century tend to name events from their teens or twenties (Conway et al., 2005; Rubin et al., 1998). They also display this “reminiscence bump” when asked to name their all-time favorite music, movies, and athletes (Janssen et al., 2011). Whatever people experience around this time of life—the Vietnam War, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the election of the first Black U.S. president—becomes pivotal (Pillemer, 1998; Schuman & Scott, 1989). Our teens and twenties hold so many memorable “firsts”—first kiss, first job, first day at college or university, first meeting in-laws.

Early adulthood is indeed a peak time for some types of learning and remembering. In one test of recall, people watched video clips as 14 strangers said their names, using a common format: “Hi, I’m Larry” (Crook & West, 1990). Then those strangers reappeared and gave additional details. For example, they said, “I’m from Philadelphia,” providing more visual and voice cues for remembering the person’s name. As FIGURE 13.2 shows, after a second and third replay of the introductions, everyone remembered more names, but younger adults consistently surpassed older adults. How well older people remember depends in part on the task. In another experiment, when asked to recognize 24 words they had earlier tried to memorize, people showed only a minimal decline in memory. When asked to recall that information without clues, however, the decline was greater (FIGURE 13.3).

161

In our capacity to learn and remember, as in other areas of development, we show individual differences. Younger adults vary in their abilities to learn and remember, but 70-year-olds vary much more. “Differences between the most and least able 70-year-olds become much greater than between the most and least able 50-year-olds,” reports Oxford researcher Patrick Rabbitt (2006). Some 70-year-olds perform below nearly all 20-year-olds; other 70-year-olds match or outdo the average 20-year-old.

No matter how quick or slow we are, remembering seems also to depend on the type of information we are trying to retrieve. If the information is meaningless—nonsense syllables or unimportant events—then the older we are, the more errors we are likely to make. If the information is meaningful, older people’s rich web of existing knowledge will help them to hold it. But they may take longer than younger adults to produce the words and things they know. Older adults also more often experience tip-of-the-tongue memories (Ossher et al., 2012). Quick-thinking game show winners are usually young or middle-aged adults (Burke & Shafto, 2004).

Psychologists who study the aging mind debate whether “brain fitness” computer training programs can build mental muscles and stave off cognitive decline. Our brains remain plastic throughout life (Gutchess, 2014). So, can exercising our brains on a “cognitive treadmill”—with memory, visual tracking, and problem-solving exercises—avert losing our minds? “At every point in life, the brain’s natural plasticity gives us the ability to improve . . . function,” said one neuroscientist-entrepreneur (Merzenich, 2007). One 5-year study of nearly 3000 people found that 10 one-hour cognitive training sessions, with follow-up booster sessions, led to improved cognitive scores on tests related to their training (Boron et al., 2007; Willis et al., 2006). Other studies with children and adults also found that brain-training exercises can sharpen the mind (Anguera et al., 2013; Jonides et al., 2012; Karr et al., 2014).

162

Based on such findings, some computer game makers are marketing daily brain-exercise programs for older adults. But other researchers, after reviewing all the available studies, advise caution (Melby-Lervåg & Hulme, 2013; Redick et al., 2013; Salthouse, 2010; Shipstead et al., 2012a,b). The available evidence, they argue, suggests that brain training can produce short-term gains, but mostly on the trained tasks and not for cognitive ability in general (Berkman et al., 2014; Harrison et al., 2013; Karbach & Verhaeghen, 2014). A British study of 11,430 people, who for 6 weeks either completed brain training activities or a control task, confirmed the limited benefits. Although the training improved the practiced skills, it did not boost overall cognitive fitness (Owen et al., 2010). “Play a video game and you’ll get better at that video game, and maybe at very similar video games,” observes researcher David Hambrick (2014), but not at driving a car or filling out your tax return.

The Thinking, Language, and Intelligence modules explore another dimension of cognitive development: intelligence. As we will see, cross-sectional studies (comparing people of different ages) and longitudinal studies (restudying the same people over time) have identified mental abilities that do and do not change as people age. Age is less a predictor of memory and intelligence than is proximity to death. Tell us whether someone is 8 months or 8 years from a natural death and, regardless of age, you’ve given us a clue to that person’s mental ability. In the last three or four years of life and especially as death approaches, cognitive decline typically accelerates, and negative feelings increase (Vogel et al., 2013; Wilson et al., 2007). Researchers call this near-death drop terminal decline (Backman & MacDonald, 2006). As death approaches, our goals also shift. We’re driven less to learn and more to connect socially (Carstensen, 2011).