MEMORY FOR ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG, YOUNG-OLD, OLD AND OLD ADULTS

Adult age differences in memory for activities have frequently been re ported. However, the age range of the older sample has varied from as young as 56 to as old as 89. The present memory for activities study d istinguished between the performance of young-old adults (60 To 70) an d old adults (71 to 82) in comparison to young adults (18 to 34). Nine teen tasks were administered over a 2-day, period, and individuals wer e asked to recall them immediately or after a 24-h delay. Young-old ad ults' memory for activities was comparable to the young adults' for bo th immediate and delayed recall. Both the young and the young-old grou ps outperformed the old adults. The results suggest that researchers m ust consider the age of the individuals in the ''old'' group before dr awing conclusions about adult age differences in memory for activities .