Recording everyday memory failures in a diary: Implications for the age-prospective memory paradox
Lia Kvavilashvili, and Andrew Laughland
(University of Hertfordshire, UK)
Agnieszka Niedzwienska
(Jagiellonian University, Poland)
Despite well documented age-related memory impairments in the laboratory, we know very little about the nature and magnitude of cognitive impairment outside the laboratory. To address this question, young and old participants kept a diary of their everyday memory failures for 7 days (Study 1) or 28 days (Study 2). Recorded failures were coded as prospective, retrospective and absent-minded/attentional failures. No significant effects of age were obtained. Results will be discussed in the context of the age-prospective memory paradox – a set of findings whereby older adults often perform worse in the laboratory but outperform young participants outside the laboratory.
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