Ability to register new information: a memory measure for the aged

Ability to register new information is a necessity for the maintenance of autonomy. Its measurement is especially critical with older patients to distinguish cognitive from other aging losses. This paper introduces the Aronson Shopping List, constructed to assess that ability. It describes a check on the test's reliability and an aspect of construct validity for its use. The subjects were 67 community volunteers aged 62 to 89 yr. Those aged 80 to 89 yr. required more training than members of the two preceding decades. Correlations of learning scores on the Aronson Shopping List with WAIS or WAIS--R subtests and prorated IQs were significant. Alternate form stability/reliability, checked after a mean interval of 11 mo. was .75. Assessing cognitive aging was discussed and related to memory.