Hyland D T, Ackerman A M
Psychology Department, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015.
J Gerontol. 1988 Mar;43(2):P35-9. doi: 10.1093/geronj/43.2.p35.
This study investigated adult age differences in memory for past personal experiences. Young, middle-aged, and older adults participated in an autobiographical memory task in which they were presented with word prompts and asked to report the first specific personal memory that came to mind. They also completed a reminiscence questionnaire and a measure of current well-being, the Bradburn Affect Balance Scale (ABS). The autobiographical memory data revealed significant increases across the three age groups in both the average time taken to respond to prompt words and the average "age" of reported memories. Age differences in reminiscence also were found. The hypothesis that persons who actively reminisce would respond more quickly and with more remote memories in the autobiographical memory task was not supported. Implications of this data for understanding the cognitive and functional aspects of personal memory are discussed.
本研究调查了成年人在对过去个人经历的记忆方面的年龄差异。年轻人、中年人和老年人参与了一项自传体记忆任务，在该任务中，他们会看到单词提示，并被要求报告首先想到的第一个具体个人记忆。他们还完成了一份怀旧问卷和一项当前幸福感测量工具——布拉德伯恩情感平衡量表（ABS）。自传体记忆数据显示，在三个年龄组中，对提示词做出反应的平均时间以及所报告记忆的平均“年龄”均显著增加。还发现了怀旧方面的年龄差异。关于在自传体记忆任务中积极怀旧的人会更快做出反应且记忆更为久远的假设未得到支持。本文讨论了这些数据对于理解个人记忆的认知和功能方面的意义。
