Adult age differences in free recall and category clustering

Abstract

This experiment used free recall and category clustering methodologies to determine whether older adults, relative to younger adults, are less adept at organizing the to-be-learned material. To assess the role of categorical versus associative relationships upon organization, items that were clear exemplars of their respective categories and had one of two levels of interim associative strength were used. Analyses of the recall data indicated that younger adults recalled more categories, more instances per category, and more total words than did the older adults. Analyses of organizational measures, including both molar and molecular measures of category clustering (a type of secondary organization), and seriation (a type of primary organization), provided evidence for age differences in multiple and divergent modes of organization. Subjects, particularly the younger adults, initially evidenced a seriation strategy and then used one based on category membership.

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