AGE-DIFFERENCES IN RECALL AND PREDICTING RECALL OF ACTION EVENTS AND WORDS

Age differences in recall and predictions of recall were examined with different memory tasks. We asked 36 younger (19-28 yrs) and 36 older (60-81 yrs) women to provide both global and item-by-hem predictions o f their recall, and then to recall either (a) Subject Performance Task s (SPTs), (b) verb-noun word-pairs memorized in list-like fashion (Wor d-Pairs), or (c) nonsense verb-noun word-pairs (Nonsense-Pairs) over t hree experimental trials. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that these tasks would vary in relative difficulty and flexibility of encoding. The results indicated that (a) age differences in global pre dictions (task specific self-efficacy) and recall performance across t rials were minimized with SPT as compared with verbal materials, (b) g lobal predictions were higher and more accurate for SPT as compared to verbal materials, and (c) item-by-item predictions were most accurate for materials encoded with the mob flexibility (Nonsense Pairs). The results suggest that SPTs may provide some level of environmental supp ort to reduce age differences in performance and task-specific self-ef ficacy, but that memory monitoring may depend on specific characterist ics of the stimuli (i.e., flexibility of encoding) rather than their v erbal or nonverbal nature.