ADULT AGE-DIFFERENCES IN THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT ON MEMORY PERFORMANCE

In two experiments, we examined the hypotheses that the memory perform ance of older adults is more dependent than that of younger adults on environmental context, and that the integration of to-be-remembered it ems with contextual cues benefits older more than younger adults. When younger and older adults were shown simple line drawings that were no t explicitly associated with the external environment, there was no ef fect on recall of a change in environmental context for either age gro up. However, when subjects heard sentences that connected the simple d rawings with environmental cues, an environmental context effect was o bserved. Both age groups recalled more in the same than in a different environment, and the magnitude of the facilitation effect of the fami liar context was equal for younger and older adults. However, the inte gration of the to-be-remembered items with the context facilitated rec all regardless of the context present at retrieval, and this effect wa s larger for younger adults, suggesting that the younger adults were b etter able to use the provided integrations than were the older adults .