Age differences in memory as a function of depth of processing.

It has been proposed that the old do not process information as deeply as the young and therefore show poorer memory. This study manipulated level of processing via type of instruction given to subjects prior to the memory tasks (recall followed by recognition). Five types of instructions were employed: non-semantic, non-semantic + intentional, intentional, semantic, and semantic + intentional. Type of instruction affected the two age groups differentially on recall memory but not on recognition memory. The young and old recalled at the same level following a non-semantic (shallow) instruction, but parted ways thereafter; the young became disproportionately superior with semantic instructions. The addition of an intentional component to the non-semantic instruction benefited the recalll performance of the young to a greater extent than the old. The addition of an intentional component to a semantic component benefited the recal performance of the young, but not the old. It was concluded that the old have more difficulty than the young in dealing with two instructional components simultaneously when recall performance is under consideration.