Ability correlates of memory performance in adulthood and aging.

The predictive relationships between an array of cognitive process and intellectual ability variables and text- and word-recall performance were examined. A sample of 584 men and women from 3 age groups (19-36, 55-69, and 70-86 years) completed a battery of 23 tasks marking 2 latent criterion variables and 10 latent predictor variables. The results indicated that (a) individual differences in process and ability variables predict performance on text and word recall, accounting for approximately half of the variance; (b) the pattern of predictors is quite similar for text and word recall; (c) age-related differences in text and word recall can be substantially accounted for by individual differences in constituent abilities, particularly indicators of verbal speed and working memory; and (d) there is some evidence to suggest that the pattern of ability-performance relationships varies across age, but such interactions appear to be relatively small.