THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTEXT FOR EPISODIC ME MORY IN YOUNGER AND OLDER PERSONS

In gerontological memory research it is generally thought that the dec line in episodic memory performance observed in elderly adults is caus ed by deficits in contextual processing. This hypothesis is based on t he assumptions of the levels-of-processing model, which suggest that m emory performance is enhanced if the context is considered during lear ning. According to the model, integrating the context with an event is an effortful and age-sensitive process. 36 younger (M = 26-98 years) and 36 older (M = 68.60 years) adults learned three lists of words. Ha lf of the words in each list were presented with a context word belong ing to the same conceptual category as the target. Each list was teste d by different memory tasks (e. g., lexical decisions, free recall). T he context was encoded either incidentally or intentionally. The proce ssing of context facilitated free recall in both age groups and in bot h learning conditions. The results contradict the assumption that the integration of an event with its context is an effortful process that declines with age.