Aging and interference: evidence from indirect memory tests.

Four experiments examined age differences on indirect memory tests as a function of (a) the status of a stimulus as target or distractor and (b) the degree of predictability of a stimulus from context. No differences between young and old adults were found when targets were clearly designated as such. In this situation, participants showed priming for unexpected but not expected stimuli whether these words appeared as targets or distractors. In contrast, age differences emerged when there was initial uncertainty on each trial as to which stimulus was the target. It is concluded that aging is associated with a decrease in the efficiency of mechanisms involved in selection.