A cognitive approach to aging and memory is an article written by Lin Luo and Fergus IM Craick, both Ph.D. holders. From the perspective of cognitive science, this article discusses transitions in memory during the natural aging period. Different types of memory are affected uniquely. Memory for tasks and certain visual memory, for instance, exhibit little age-related improvements, while working memory, cognitive function, and prospective memories decrease significantly with the aging process. Memory for factual data and understanding (semantic memories) holds up great in older people if the content is accessed regularly. Alternatively, the capacity to remember more confidential information (like names) usually decreases.
Furthermore, this article provides recommendations to the effect that memory function in older adults is highly susceptible when self-initiated treatment is most needed; on the other hand, environmental aid is very useful for brain performance. The potential ramifications of this research results and proposals include suggestions that therapeutic memory evaluations include measures intended to evaluate various facets of memory functioning.
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This article incorporates different sources and data collection methods and differences in participants regarding age and gender. This article considered scholarly articles and studies like the metanalysis by Spencer and Raz. Additionally, human volunteers were also involved, e.g., during the prospective memory test and false memory. Lastly, theoretical accounts like the reduced processing resources further aided this study by providing unbiased and comprehensive findings. This study encountered few bottlenecks. Primary memory and recall capabilities findings demonstrated little value; for example, the taken tests were less impaired by aging. There lies a need to determine the degree to which the particular research methodology constrains the positive outcomes. Therefore, further studies are necessary to realize a wholesome conclusion.
This article reported major findings mainly regarding memory retention, false memory, and prospective memory. Memory capacity in older people was observed to increase where participants applied successful encoding strategies and appropriate retrieval assistance. Elderly adults tended to interpret incoming information more shallowly due to the drop in available computing power. Such shallow processing power was be considered to result in a binding or association deficiency, leading to a weaker alignment of the case with current information. Elderly adults had lower performances, but not reality facts, suggesting a shortage of capacity to recall contextual sources.
Findings for the age-related rise in vulnerability to false memory often took a double-process strategy. Schacter, for instance, indicated that poor recall of object-specific knowledge together with preserved memory for generic resemblance. Information tended to increase the vulnerability of inaccurate memories among participants. False memories were triggered by activation dissemination among common partners. Additionally, McDermott’s study on activation-monitoring systems reported a relationship between less successful monitoring processes needed to differentiate between studied objects and strongly triggered distracters (Luo & Craik, 2008, p. 350).
The studies’ results revealed substantial age gaps in time-based prospect memory functions but not in activity-based activities, implying that this outcome is due to the absence of external prompts in time-based prospect memory tasks, necessitating more self-initiated activity processing to carry out the intent. According to Henry’s meta-analysis, age-related deficits were observed in both case- and time-based scenarios recall abilities in laboratory environments (Luo & Craik, 2008, p. 351). Time-based potential memory tasks appeared more difficult for older people than occurrence tasks; however, the distinction was not statistically significant.
This article explicitly discusses cognitive approaches in regards to memory retention in the aging stages. From the drawbacks elicited in the studies, further research is essential to complement the research. I will apply the studies in discerning the optimal age and time to perform different tasks in the workplace.
Reference
Luo, L., & Craik, F. I. (2008). Aging and memory: A cognitive approach. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry , 53 (6), 346-353. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674370805300603
