Verbal and visuospatial recall by younger and older subjects: use of matched tasks.

In this study, 18 older (over age 65, M = 75.61 years) and 18 younger (below age 40 and over age 17, M = 26.44 years) healthy volunteers were tested on verbal and visuospatial recall. Tasks were matched on discriminating power. Older Ss performed worse than younger Ss on both tasks. The older Ss also showed a larger deficit in visuospatial than in verbal recall, relative to the younger Ss. These results are consistent with the theory of aging according to which verbal tasks are more resistant to deterioration than are nonverbal tasks. A psychological explanation based on lifetime experience with verbal material is preferred over the physiological explanation advocating faster aging of the right hemisphere.