Measures of fluency as predictors of incidental memory among older adults

This study investigated fluency performance as a mediator of age-related de clines in incidental memory performance as both are thought to rely on stra tegic retrieval processes. A large sample of community dwelling older adult s completed a battery of tests assessing fluency, verbal knowledge, speed o f information processing, and incidental recall. Fluency measures included initial and excluded letter fluency and the Uses for Objects Test, and they were assumed to reflect increasing reliance on strategic retrieval search. Speed emerged as the best mediator of age-related variance in incidental r ecall, and Uses for Objects Test performance added to the variance after co ntrolling for verbal knowledge and speed. The results suggest that age-rela ted decline in incidental recall is largely due to speed and the strategic search of memory.