Previous studies have shown metamemory (awareness of one’s own memory; MM)
and working memory (WM) to be related (Konmori, 2016). Yet, only few
investigate potential benefits of training WM on MM in younger (YA) and
older adults (OA). In the study, YA and OA participants were randomly
assigned to complete knowledge-based training or WM training. In the MM
task, participants “bet” on how likely they think they will recall the
words and afterwards, recall these words. We hypothesize that MM is higher
for YAs than OAs regardless of training condition and that MM may be
improved with WM-specific interventions. Results show that YAs make higher
bets, have higher scores and recall more words than OAs. There is a
significant interaction between session and age according to bets. OAs make
lower bets in the second session while there is no difference in YAs,
indicating that OAs decreased confidence during the second session. There
was no significant difference in MM bets, score or accuracy as a function
of intervention type. Our results indicate that MM performance is sensitive
to age effects and furthermore, that OAs change their strategies over time,
irrespective of the intervention.
