ABSTRACT

Age-related memory deficits are most pronounced on demanding tests of working memory and episodic memory, and are more pronounced in some older individuals than in others. In this chapter, we review individual-difference factors that influence memory functioning in adulthood and aging. A distinction is drawn between two categories of factors. The first includes biological factors that impose constraints by predisposing the aging brain toward cognitive decline. The second category includes a more heterogeneous collection of factors that are self-initiated and may be seen as offering possibilities rather than imposing constraints. We conclude by presenting some intriguing avenues for future research.

INTRODUCTION

Increasing age leads to impaired memory function. Although this bold and perhaps depressing opening statement has been supported by numerous empirical observations, it has to be qualified in several ways. First, all memory functions are not uniformly affected by aging. In the domain of short-term working memory, age differences are modest on tasks that involve the passive holding of information over some restricted time period, whereas tasks that more heavily tax executive processes by requiring both holding and manipulation of memory information are associated with much more pronounced age differences. Within the domain of long-term memory, declarative (i.e., episodic and semantic) memory is more age sensitive than nondeclarative (i.e., procedural) memory. Also, within declarative memory, aging seems to have quite differential effects (e.g., Nyberg, Maitland et al., 2003; Fig. 11.1).