Age-related deficits in short-term memory have been widely reported, but re
duced overall scores could reflect increased order errors, increased omissi
ons, or increased intrusions. Different explanations for reduced short-term
memory with aging lead to different predictions. Zn this study, young (n =
68; M age = 20 years) and older(n = 99; M age = 65 years) adults were pres
ented with lists of letters and were asked to recall each list immediately
in the correct order. Age differences in error patterns were similar for au
ditory and visual presentation. For example, older adults made more errors
of every type, and a greater proportion of the older adults' errors were om
issions. An additional condition, in which older adults were encouraged to
guess, ruled out an age increase in response threshold as a full explanatio
n for the results. The data were modeled by an oscillator-based computation
al model of memory for serial order. A good fit to the aging data was achie
ved by simultaneously altering two parameters that were interpreted as corr
esponding to frontal decline and response slowing.