Tip-of-the-tongue states reveal age differences in the syllable frequency effect

Syllable frequency has been shown to facilitate production in some languages but has yielded inconsistent results in English and has never been examined in older adults. Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states represent a unique type of production failure where the phonology of a word is unable to be retrieved, suggesting that the frequency of phonological forms, like syllables, may influence the occurrence of TOT states. In the current study, we investigated the role of first-syllable frequency on TOT incidence and resolution in young (18-26 years of age), young-old (60-74 years of age), and old-old (75-89 years of age) adults. Data from 3 published studies were compiled, where TOTs were elicited by presenting definition-like questions and asking participants to respond with "Know," "Don't Know," or "TOT." Young-old and old-old adults, but not young adults, experienced more TOTs for words beginning with low-frequency first syllables relative to high-frequency first syllables. Furthermore, age differences in TOT incidence occurred only for words with low-frequency first syllables. In contrast, when a prime word with the same first syllable as the target was presented during TOT states, all age groups resolved more TOTs for words beginning with low-frequency syllables. These findings support speech production models that allow for bidirectional activation between conceptual, lexical, and phonological forms of words. Furthermore, the age-specific effects of syllable frequency provide insight into the progression of age-linked changes to phonological processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).     

Why a superman cannot help a tsunami: activation of grammatical class influences resolution of young and older adults' tip-of-the-tongue states

Young (aged 18-23), young-old (aged 61-73), and old-old (aged 75-89) adults saw general knowledge questions whose answers were designated target words. Participants responded that they knew, did not know, or were having a tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state for the answer. After TOT states, participants saw a 5-word list in which 1 was a "prime" containing the target's first syllable and that shared or differed in part of speech from the target. The question was then presented again, and target retrieval was attempted. Results revealed age differences in resolution of TOT states as a function of the prime's grammatical class. Following different part-of-speech primes, young and young-old adults showed increased resolution of TOT states relative to phonologically unrelated words, whereas old-old adults did not. In contrast, old-old adults demonstrated decreased resolution of TOT states following same part-of-speech primes, whereas young and young-old adults' TOT resolution was unaffected. These findings are consistent with interactive activation theories of speech production in which phonology can influence lexical selection and also suggest an increased susceptibility to phonological competitors in the later stages of the aging process.     

Identification of odors of edible and nonedible stimuli as affected by age and gender

This study investigated cued odor identification performance with a set of 64 natural common odors (half of edible and half of nonedible stimuli) in three groups of participants: one group of 30 young adults (mean age 25.3 years, range 18-30, SD 3.1) and two groups of older adults-20 young-old (mean age 64.4 years, range 60-69, SD 2.8) and 21 old-old (mean age 74.6 years, range 70-79, SD 2.5). The results showed that 49 of the 64 odors were correctly identified by over 70% of the participants in all groups. The odor identification performance of the young-old adults did not differ from that of the young adults. However, the oldest group showed a significant loss of performance in the task. Women in the young-old group performed better than men, whereas no gender differences were found in the other two age groups. The data obtained in this study will be useful for further perceptual and memory studies conducted in the olfactory modality with young as well as with older participants.     

Does priming specific syllables during tip-of-the-tongue states facilitate word retrieval in older adults?

This experiment investigated whether phonological priming of syllables helps resolve tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states in young and older adults. Young, young-old, and old-old adults read general knowledge questions and responded "know," "TOT," or "don't know" accordingly. Participants then read a list of 10 words that included 3 phonological primes corresponding solely to the first, middle, or last syllable of the target word. Young and young-old adults resolved more TOTs after first-syllable primes, but old-old adults showed no increase in TOT resolution following any primes. These results indicate that presentation of the first syllable of a missing word strengthens the weakened phonological connections that cause TOTs and increases word retrieval, but not for old-old adults who experience greater deficits in the transmission of priming across these connections.     

Using the implicit association test to measure age differences in implicit social cognitions

Two studies investigated the use of the Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998) to study age differences in implicit social cognitions. Study I collected IAT (implicit) and explicit (self-report) measures of age attitudes, age identity, and self-esteem from young, young-old, and old-old participants. Study 2 collected IAT and explicit measures of attitudes toward flowers versus insects from young and old participants. Results show that the IAT provided theoretically meaningful insights into age differences in social cognitions that the explicit measures did not, supporting the value of the IAT in aging research. Results also illustrate that age-related slowing must be considered in analysis and interpretation of IAT measures.     

Differential effects of age on prospective and retrospective memory tasks in young, young-old, and old-old adults

Remembering to do something in the future (termed prospective memory) is distinguished from remembering information from the past (retrospective memory). Because prospective memory requires strong self-initiation, Craik (1986) predicted that age decrements should be larger in prospective than retrospective memory tasks. The aim of the present study was to assess Craik's prediction by examining the onset of age decline in two retrospective and three prospective memory tasks in the samples of young (18-30 years), young-old (61-70 years), and old-old (71-80 years) participants recruited from the local community. Results showed that although the magnitude of age effects varied across the laboratory prospective memory tasks, they were smaller than age effects in a simple three-item free recall task. Moreover, while reliable age decrements in both retrospective memory tasks of recognition and free recall were already present in the young-old group, in laboratory tasks of prospective memory they were mostly present in the old-old group only. In addition, older participants were more likely to report a retrospective than prospective memory failure as their most recent memory lapse, while the opposite pattern was present in young participants. Taken together, these findings highlight the theoretical importance of distinguishing effects of ageing on prospective and retrospective memory, and support and extend the results of a recent meta-analysis by Henry, MacLeod, Phillips, and Crawford (2004).     

Reading comprehension in aging: the role of working memory and metacomprehension

This study examines age-related differences in reading comprehension analyzing the role of working memory and metacomprehension components in a sample of young (18-30 years), young-old (65-74 years), and old-old (75-85 years) participants. Text comprehension abilities were measured by a standardized test, including two texts: a narrative and an expository text. The elderly's reading comprehension performance, when compared to the norm, emerged to be adequate. More specifically, the young-old showed an equivalent level of comprehension as the young adults for the narrative text. However, a clear age-related decline was found in the case of the expository text. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that working memory capacity, as well as different metacomprehension components but not age, are the key aspects in explaining the different patterns of changes in the comprehension of narrative and expository texts.     

Reading Comprehension in Aging: The Role of Working Memory and Metacomprehension

This study examines age-related differences in reading comprehension analyzing the role of working memory and metacomprehension components in a sample of young (18–30 years), young-old (65–74 years), and old-old (75–85 years) participants. Text comprehension abilities were measured by a standardized test, including two texts: a narrative and an expository text. The elderly's reading comprehension performance, when compared to the norm, emerged to be adequate. More specifically, the young-old showed an equivalent level of comprehension as the young adults for the narrative text. However, a clear age-related decline was found in the case of the expository text. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that working memory capacity, as well as different metacomprehension components but not age, are the key aspects in explaining the different patterns of changes in the comprehension of narrative and expository texts.     

A descriptive epidemiology of lifetime trauma and the physical health status of older adults

Three issues are evaluated in this study. The 1st involves examining the relationship between exposure to trauma over the life course and physical health status in old age. The 2nd has to do with seeing whether the relationship between trauma and health varies across 3 cohorts of older adults: the young-old (ages 65-74), the old-old (ages 75-84), and the oldest old (age 85 and over). The 3rd issue involves seeing whether the age at which a trauma was encountered is related to health in late life. Data from a nationwide survey of older people (N=1,518) reveal that trauma is associated with worse health. Moreover, the young-old appear to be at greatest risk. Finally, data suggest that trauma arising between the ages of 18 and 30 years, as well as ages 31 to 64 years, has the strongest relationship with current health.     

Effects of Age and Intentionality on Content Memory and Temporal Memory for Performed Activities

Seventy-two young (18–28), 72 young-old (ages 57–70), and 72 old-old (71–93) adults completed 10 different laboratory activities. Intention to learn the content of the activities and their temporal order was varied within each age group by manipulating type of encoding instruction given to the participant (i.e., either incidental, intentional for content, or intentional for both content and temporal order). Participants' recall, recognition, and temporal memory proficiency for the activities was then evaluated. The results revealed that both content memory and temporal order memory for the performed activities were enhanced by intentional encoding strategies. Young adults performed better on the temporal ordering task than young-old adults, with temporal memory proficiency continuing to show further decline in the old-old group. In contrast, content recall and recognition abilities were impaired only in the old-old group. The results suggest that strategic encoding processes can enhance memory for performed activities, and that age-related deficits in temporal order efficiency may occur earlier than those involved in memory for the content of performed activities.     

Ongoing Cumulative Chronic Stressors as Predictors of Well-Being in the Second Half of Life

The main aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between ongoing cumulative chronic stressors (OCCS) and well-being during the second half of life. The sample comprised 7,268 participants who had completed the Health and Retirement Study 2006 psychosocial questionnaire and the full OCCS questionnaire. OCCS were evaluated as a predictor of Subjective Well-Being and Psychological Well-Being (PWB) using two measures: the number of events and the subjective evaluation attributed to the events by the participant. Additionally, the association between OCCS and well-being was evaluated in midlife (50–64), young-old (65–79), and old-old (80–104) participants. The results showed that the participant’s age as well as the number of OCCS perceived as “very upsetting” were strong predictors of well-being. The relationship between OCCS and PWB was weaker among old-old participants than among midlife and young-old participants. Although well-being is considered a stable trait-like personality dimension in the second half of life, the study’s findings suggest that as the number of OCCS was higher, and especially as the subjective evaluations attributed to an event are more upsetting, well-being was lower. Nevertheless, this lower level of well-being is partially moderated in the PWB measures by age. Old-old participants maintain a higher general positive sense of PWB than midlife and young-old participants in what was previously termed the “well-being paradox.” Implications of the results are discussed.     

Prospective memory and ageing paradox with event-based tasks: A study of young,young-old,and old-old participants

Research on ageing and prospective memory—remembering to do something in the future—has resulted in paradoxical findings, whereby older adults are often impaired in the laboratory but perform significantly better than younger adults in naturalistic settings. Nevertheless, there are very few studies that have examined prospective memory both in and outside the laboratory using the same sample of young and old participants. Moreover, most naturalistic studies have used time-based tasks, and it is unclear whether the prospective memory and ageing paradox extends to event-based tasks. In this study, 72 young (18–30 years), 79 young-old (61–70 years), and 72 old-old (71–80 years) participants completed several event-based tasks in and outside the laboratory. Results showed that the ageing paradox does exist for event-based tasks but manifests itself differently from that in time-based tasks. Thus, younger adults outperformed old-old participants in two laboratory event-based tasks, but there were no age effects for a naturalistic task completed at home (remembering to write the date and time in the upper left corner of a questionnaire). The young and old-old also did not differ in remembering to retrieve a wristwatch from a pocket at the end of the laboratory session. This indicates that the paradox may be due to differences in ongoing task demands in the lab and everyday life, rather than the location per se. The findings call for a concentrated effort towards a theory of cognitive ageing that identifies the variables that do, or do not, account for this paradox.     

Timing of reflexive visuospatial orienting in young, young-old, and old-old adults

This study examined adult age differences in reflexive orienting to two types of uninformative spatial cues: central arrows and peripheral onsets. In two experiments using a Posner cuing task, young adults (ages 18–28 years), young-old adults (60–74 years), and old-old adults (75–92 years) responded to targets that were preceded 100–1,000 ms earlier by a central arrow or a peripheral abrupt onset. In Experiment 1, the cue remained present upon target onset. Facilitation effects at short cue–target stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) were prolonged in duration for the two older groups relative to the young adults. At longer cue–target SOAs, inhibition of return (IOR) that was initiated by peripheral onset cues was observed in the performance of young adults but not in that of the two older groups. In Experiment 2, the cue was presented briefly and removed prior to target onset. The change in cue duration minimized age differences (particularly for young-old adults) in facilitation effects and led to IOR for all three age groups. The findings are consistent with the idea that attentional control settings change with age, with higher settings for older adults leading to delayed disengagement from spatial cues.     

Decline in working memory updating through ageing: intrusion error analyses

The present research examines the decline in working memory updating through age. Two experiments compared groups of participants in different age ranges (young-old, 55-65 years, old, 66-75 years and old-old, more than 75 years and, in Experiment 2 only, young, 20-30 years). Memory updating tasks were administered, which required participants to remember the smallest items in each list. To perform the task correctly, participants had to update information efficiently, reducing interference from items no longer relevant. Intrusion errors were computed and in the first experiment these were described as "intrusions of irrelevant items" (immediate exclusion) and "intrusions of once relevant items" (delayed exclusion). The oldest adults performed worse in memory updating and made a greater number of intrusion errors of once relevant information. In the second experiment results showed that increases in memory load (number of items that had to be remembered) and updating demand (number of potentially relevant items) impaired performance. The oldest adults had greater difficulty when the task demand was increased. Furthermore, they produced a higher number of intrusion errors, particularly when the updating demand was increased. It therefore appears that elderly people have specific difficulty in updating information in working memory by excluding irrelevant information.     

Dynamic links between memory and functional limitations in old age: longitudinal evidence for age-based structural dynamics from the AHEAD study

This study examined competing substantive hypotheses about dynamic (i.e., time-ordered) links between memory and functional limitations in old age. We applied the Bivariate Dual Change Score Model to 13-year longitudinal data from the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old Study (AHEAD; N = 6,990; ages 70 - 95). Results revealed that better memory predicted shallower increases in functional limitations. Little evidence was found for the opposite direction that functional limitations predict ensuing changes in memory. Spline models indicated that dynamic associations between memory and functional limitations were substantively similar between participants aged 70-79 and those aged 80-95. Potential covariates (gender, education, health conditions, and depressive symptoms) did not account for these differential lead-lag associations. Applying a multivariate approach, our results suggest that late-life developments in two key components of successful aging are intrinsically interrelated. Our discussion focuses on possible mechanisms why cognitive functioning may serve as a source of age-related changes in health both among the young-old and the old-old.     

Scale of attentional focus in visual search

The effects of the spatial scale of attention on feature and conjunction search were examined in two experiments. Adult participants in three age groups—young, young-old, and old-old—were given precues of varying validity and precision in indicating the location of a target letter subsequently presented in a visual array. Systematic decreases in the size of a valid precue (toward the size of the target) progressively facilitated both feature and conjunction search, with a greater benefit accruing to conjunction search. Age-related slowing in conjunction search was mitigated by precise (small and valid) precues, presumably because they reduced the need for participants in the young-old group to focus and to shift attention. Nevertheless, this benefit was reduced in the old-old group. The effects of valid location precue size varied with cue-target stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) in a manner that interacted with search difficulty: Effects of cue size developed more rapidly in feature search but more slowly in conjunction search. Finally, when precues were invalid for target location, search was faster with larger sized precues. Thus, in both easy feature search and hard conjunction search, the scale of visuospatial attention modulates the speed of visual search. Furthermore, when the SOA is sufficiently long for cue effects to develop, the ability to dynamically adjust the scale of visuospatial attention appears to decline in advanced age. These results go beyond current models in suggesting that visuospatial attention possesses two dynamic properties—shifting in space and varying in scale—that are deployed independently, depending on task demands.     

舌尖效应产生和解决的词汇提取年老化机制：两阶段范式研究

舌尖效应年老化机制受到语言特异性因素的影响。本研究把Stroop效应作为协变量,在统计分析控制个体抑制能力的基础上,采用两阶段范式考察舌尖效应产生和解决中词汇提取的年老化机制。结果发现：（1）老年人的舌尖效应产生率和语音提取缺陷均显著高于青年人,语义提取缺陷年龄差异不显著;（2）老年人的舌尖效应解决率和语音促进效应量均显著低于青年人;（3）语义启动影响老年人的舌尖效应解决,而对青年人没有影响。上述结果表明,舌尖效应产生和解决的年老化均与语音提取衰退有关,与语义提取衰退无关,支持语言特异性衰退的观点。     

Pictorial superiority effects in oldest-old people

We examined memory for pictures and words in middle-age (45-59 years), young-old (60-74 years), old-old (75-89 years), and the oldest-old adults (90-97 years) in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study. Stimulus items were presented and retention was tested in a blocked order where half of the participants studied 16 simple line drawings and the other half studied matching words during acquisition. Free recall and recognition followed. In the next acquisition/test block a new set of items was used where the stimulus format was changed relative to the first block. Results yielded pictorial superiority effects in both retention measures for all age groups. Follow-up analyses of clustering in free recall revealed that a greater number of categories were accessed (which reflects participants' retrieval plan) and more items were recalled per category (which reflects participants' encoding strategy) when pictures served as stimuli compared to words. Cognitive status and working memory span were correlated with picture and word recall. Regression analyses confirmed that these individual difference variables accounted for significant age-related variance in recall. These data strongly suggest that the oldest-old can utilise nonverbal memory codes to support long-term retention as effectively as do younger adults.     

Pictorial superiority effects in oldest-old people

We examined memory for pictures and words in middle-age (45–59 years), young-old (60–74 years), old-old (75–89 years), and the oldest-old adults (90–97 years) in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study. Stimulus items were presented and retention was tested in a blocked order where half of the participants studied 16 simple line drawings and the other half studied matching words during acquisition. Free recall and recognition followed. In the next acquisition/test block a new set of items was used where the stimulus format was changed relative to the first block. Results yielded pictorial superiority effects in both retention measures for all age groups. Follow-up analyses of clustering in free recall revealed that a greater number of categories were accessed (which reflects participants’ retrieval plan) and more items were recalled per category (which reflects participants’ encoding strategy) when pictures served as stimuli compared to words. Cognitive status and working memory span were correlated with picture and word recall. Regression analyses confirmed that these individual difference variables accounted for significant age-related variance in recall. These data strongly suggest that the oldest-old can utilise nonverbal memory codes to support long-term retention as effectively as do younger adults.     

Older readers can be distracted by embellishing graphics in text

In most research on graphics in text students learn the content for a test (e.g., Mayer, 2002). The present study examined whether one of the principles from that literature, namely the deleterious effect of extraneous graphic information, would apply to adults who were consulting a leaflet to answer questions. The study used a mixed factorial design with 48 participants from three age bands (young-adult, young-old, old-old). Participants used two leaflets to answer questions, one without graphics and the other with either extraneous embellishing or supportive explanatory graphics. Relative to leaflets without graphics, the old-old participants were significantly slower finding information when leaflets contained embellishing but not explanatory graphics. The graphics had no effect on the other age groups. These findings suggest that either the reading task or the thematic relevance of the extraneous graphics may limit their negative effects for most adults but that negative effects recur for older readers.