Middlebrooks Catherine D, McGillivray Shannon, Murayama Kou, Castel Alan D
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles.
Department of Psychology, Weber State University, Ogden.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2016 May;71(3):389-99. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbv032. Epub 2015 May 14.
While older adults often display memory deficits, with practice, they can sometimes selectively remember valuable information at the expense of less value information. We examined age-related differences and similarities in memory for health-related information under conditions where some information was critical to remember.
In Experiment 1, participants studied 3 lists of allergens, ranging in severity from 0 (not a health risk) to 10 (potentially fatal), with the instruction that it was particularly important to remember items to which a fictional relative was most severely allergic. After each list, participants received feedback regarding their recall of the high-value allergens. Experiment 2 examined memory for health benefits, presenting foods that were potentially beneficial to the relative's immune system.
While younger adults exhibited better overall memory for the allergens, both age groups in Experiment 1 developed improved selectivity across the lists, with no evident age differences in severe allergen recall by List 2. Selectivity also developed in Experiment 2, although age differences for items of high health benefit were present.
The results have implications for models of selective memory in older age, and for how aging influences the ability to strategically remember important information within health-related contexts.
虽然老年人常常表现出记忆缺陷，但通过练习，他们有时能够以牺牲价值较低的信息为代价，选择性地记住有价值的信息。我们研究了在某些信息对记忆至关重要的情况下，与年龄相关的健康相关信息记忆方面的差异和相似之处。
在实验1中，参与者学习了3组过敏原列表，严重程度从0（无健康风险）到10（可能致命），并被告知记住一个虚构亲属过敏最严重的项目尤为重要。每组列表学习后，参与者会收到关于他们对高价值过敏原回忆情况的反馈。实验2研究了对健康益处的记忆，展示了对亲属免疫系统可能有益的食物。
虽然年轻人对过敏原的总体记忆更好，但实验1中的两个年龄组在各组列表中都表现出了更好的选择性，到列表2时，在严重过敏原回忆方面没有明显的年龄差异。实验2中也出现了选择性，尽管在高健康益处项目上存在年龄差异。
这些结果对老年人选择性记忆模型以及衰老如何影响在健康相关情境中策略性记住重要信息的能力具有启示意义。
