Qualitative age differences in memory for text: a life-span developmental perspective

Qualitative differences in memory for text among 4 age groups (mean ages = 14.14, 17.55, 48.35, and 67.12 years) were examined in this study. Participants produced written recall and summary responses after presentation of a story and an essay. The response protocols were scored for their reproductive, elaborative, and metaphoric content. Age-group differences were observed in the quality of the responses. In general, the adolescent recall and summary responses were reproductive and text based, whereas the adult responses were more reconstructive and interpretive. Age-group differences were especially apparent in the story condition: The adolescents recalled and summarized the story's propositional content, whereas many of the adults recalled and summarized the story's psychological and metaphoric meanings as well. Individual difference variables accounted for much of the age-related variability in the essay but not in the story responses.