Factors influencing word naming in younger and older adults

The present study examined age differences in the influence of 3 factors th at previous research has shown to influence word-naming performance. The in fluence of word frequency, orthographic length, and orthographic neighborho od measures was examined using large-scale regression analyses on the namin g latencies for 2,820 words. Thirty-one younger adults and 29 older adults named all of these words, and age differences in the influence of these fac tors were examined. The results revealed that all 3 factors predicted relia ble amounts of variance in word-naming latencies for both groups. However, older adults showed a larger influence of word frequency and reduced influe nces of orthographic length and orthographic neighborhood density compared with younger adults. Overall, these results suggest that lexical level fact ors increase in influence in older adults whereas sublexical factors decrea se in influence.