THE MANIPULATION AND MEASUREMENT OF TASK-SPECIFIC MEMORY SELF-EFFICACY IN YOUNGER AND OLDER ADULTS

Task-specific memory self-efficacy (TSMSE) was experimentally manipula ted through provision of information about task difficulty, to determi ne its effect on free recall for 56 older (age 63-86) and 56 younger ( age 16-25) adults. The implications of using prediction-based measures of TSMSE were addressed. After completing one recall trial of a list of 20 words, half the participants were told a second list comprised m ore difficult words; the others were told the second list would be sim ilar to the first they had received. Free recall and TSMSE were measur ed before and after this manipulation. The manipulation reduced TSMSE for participants expecting a harder list of words, but not differently for younger compared with older adults. Younger and older adults' rec all declined at the second recall trial, but there was no difference b etween those expecting a harder list and those expecting a similar lis t. Recall was predicted by domain-specific memory self-efficacy as wel l as a traditional measure of TSMSE. The study demonstrated the mallea bility of memory self-efficacy, but called into question assertions ab out its salience as a mediator of older adults' poorer memory performa nce.