Andiel C, Liu L
Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Am J Occup Ther. 1995 Jul-Aug;49(7):681-6. doi: 10.5014/ajot.49.7.681.
Atkinson and Shiffrin's (1968) modal model of memory is still commonly used by rehabilitation professionals to evaluate memory impairment in older adults. However, research to date has been unable to indicate that short-term memory declines with age. These findings have led some rehabilitation professionals to mistakenly conclude that short-term memory is not affected by the aging process. This article reviews both the traditional concept of short-term memory, as outlined by Atkinson and Shiffrin, and the more recent conceptualization of short-term memory in terms of Baddeley and Hitch's (1974) model of working memory. The implications of the concept of working memory has implications for occupational therapy interventions for older adults. For example, clients with dementia may experience difficulties in performing tasks that require drawing inferences. Similarly, language that contains vague references may present problems for these clients. In addition, changes in working memory in older adults suggest that they may experience difficulties with medication management and what Rule, Milke, and Dobbs (1992) called wayfinding. Therefore, evaluations of working memory would provide a better indication of older adults' memory performance than the modal model.
阿特金森和希夫林（1968年）的记忆模态模型仍被康复专业人员广泛用于评估老年人的记忆障碍。然而，迄今为止的研究未能表明短期记忆会随着年龄增长而衰退。这些发现导致一些康复专业人员错误地得出结论，即短期记忆不受衰老过程的影响。本文回顾了阿特金森和希夫林所概述的短期记忆的传统概念，以及近期基于巴德利和希奇（1974年）工作记忆模型的短期记忆概念。工作记忆概念对老年人的职业治疗干预具有启示意义。例如，患有痴呆症的客户在执行需要进行推理的任务时可能会遇到困难。同样，包含模糊指代的语言可能会给这些客户带来问题。此外，老年人工作记忆的变化表明，他们在药物管理以及鲁尔、米尔克和多布斯（1992年）所称的路径导航方面可能会遇到困难。因此，与模态模型相比，对工作记忆的评估能更好地反映老年人的记忆表现。
