Age-Related Differences in Voluntary Remembering
Department
Psychological Science
Major
Psychology/Pre-medicine
Research Advisor
Belfi, Amy M.
Advisor's Department
Psychological Science
Funding Source
University of Missouri Research Board
Abstract
The ability to recall specific autobiographical memories (AMs) declines with age; however, such age-related differences in AM have only been found using tests of voluntary memory. We investigated whether involuntary AMs are more resistant to age-related decline. Involuntary AMs are memories that come to mind without any effort and are often evoked by sensory cues. We predicted that involuntary AMs would show a decreased age-related decline in episodic richness. Participants were shown three stimuli: music, pictures, and verbal prompts. After each stimulus, participants stated whether the stimulus evoked an involuntary memory. If so, they verbally described the memory. If not, they were asked to retrieve a voluntary memory. We found that older adults showed poorer performance for voluntary memories, but not involuntary memories. Our results will apply to fields like music therapy, which use music to evoke memories in individuals. Our results can also inform theories about age-related memory decline.
Biography
Ava Stroud is a senior majoring in psychology/cognitive neuroscience. She will attend A.T. Still University in Kirksville, MO in 2020 to pursue her career goal of practicing medicine. Ava is a member of the PsiChi National Honor Society and was awarded a $1500 research grant for this particular project. She is interested in memory and its function across the lifespan and will continue to do research with Dr. Belfi until she graduates.
Research Category
Social Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Award
Social science poster session, First place
Location
Upper Atrium
Presentation Date
16 Apr 2019, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Age-Related Differences in Voluntary Remembering
Upper Atrium
The ability to recall specific autobiographical memories (AMs) declines with age; however, such age-related differences in AM have only been found using tests of voluntary memory. We investigated whether involuntary AMs are more resistant to age-related decline. Involuntary AMs are memories that come to mind without any effort and are often evoked by sensory cues. We predicted that involuntary AMs would show a decreased age-related decline in episodic richness. Participants were shown three stimuli: music, pictures, and verbal prompts. After each stimulus, participants stated whether the stimulus evoked an involuntary memory. If so, they verbally described the memory. If not, they were asked to retrieve a voluntary memory. We found that older adults showed poorer performance for voluntary memories, but not involuntary memories. Our results will apply to fields like music therapy, which use music to evoke memories in individuals. Our results can also inform theories about age-related memory decline.
