ABSTRACT
The authors examined the factor structure of the Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire (KMAQ) [1] using confirmatory factor analysis in a lifespan sample of 933 individuals who ranged in age from 18 to 101. Participants were college students at Louisiana State University and adults from the community enrolled in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS). A two-factor solution was expected, consistent with the normal and pathological memory aging dimensions that comprise the KMAQ. A bi-factor solution with items loading on a general response bias factor and either a normal or pathological knowledge-specific factor showed good model fit. Knowledge scores were correlated with demographic and cognitive performance variables. Implications of these data for clinical settings and research are considered.
Subject(s)
Aging/physiology , Memory/physiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Alzheimer Disease/physiopathology , Female , Humans , Male , Memory Disorders/physiopathology , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young AdultSubject(s)
Cognition , Health Status , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Cross-Sectional Studies , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
The authors trained 4 older adults with probable Alzheimer's disease to recall a name-face-occupation association using the spaced retrieval technique. Six training sessions were administered over a 2-week period. On each trial, participants selected a target photograph and stated the target name and occupation at increasingly longer retention intervals, contingent upon successful recall. Two transfer tasks were included to determine whether the trained association transferred to the person whose picture served as the training stimulus. Results yielded a positive effect of spaced retrieval on memory for the trained association. Analyses of errors revealed that participants remembered the target person's occupation more often than his or her name. There was modest evidence of transfer of the name-face-occupation association to the actual person. Implications of these data for memory remediation and quality of life in cognitively impaired older adults are considered.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/therapy , Association Learning , Face , Mental Recall , Names , Occupations , Retention, Psychology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis , Alzheimer Disease/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Practice, Psychological , Psychometrics , Transfer, Psychology , Wechsler Scales/statistics & numerical dataABSTRACT
Six older adults with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) were trained to recall a name-face association using the spaced retrieval technique. In this study, we retested these persons in a 6-month follow-up program. For half of the participants, three booster sessions were administered at 6, 12, and 18 weeks after original training to promote long-term retention of the name- face association. Results yielded a mnemonic benefit of the booster sessions at retest. Participants were successful in transferring this association to the actual person in the target photograph. These data confirmed the positive effect of spaced retrieval on recall of a name-face association over a 6-month interval. Implications for memory remediation in cognitively impaired older adults are considered.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis , Alzheimer Disease/rehabilitation , Association Learning , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/methods , Recognition, Psychology , Retention, Psychology , Transfer, Psychology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Face , Humans , Time FactorsABSTRACT
We examined memory for pictures and words in middle-age (45-59 years), young-old (60-74 years), old-old (75-89 years), and the oldest-old adults (90-97 years) in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study. Stimulus items were presented and retention was tested in a blocked order where half of the participants studied 16 simple line drawings and the other half studied matching words during acquisition. Free recall and recognition followed. In the next acquisition/test block a new set of items was used where the stimulus format was changed relative to the first block. Results yielded pictorial superiority effects in both retention measures for all age groups. Follow-up analyses of clustering in free recall revealed that a greater number of categories were accessed (which reflects participants' retrieval plan) and more items were recalled per category (which reflects participants' encoding strategy) when pictures served as stimuli compared to words. Cognitive status and working memory span were correlated with picture and word recall. Regression analyses confirmed that these individual difference variables accounted for significant age-related variance in recall. These data strongly suggest that the oldest-old can utilise nonverbal memory codes to support long-term retention as effectively as do younger adults.
Subject(s)
Memory/physiology , Recognition, Psychology/physiology , Verbal Learning/physiology , Visual Perception/physiology , Age Factors , Aged/psychology , Aged, 80 and over , Cues , Humans , Louisiana , Middle Aged , Regression AnalysisABSTRACT
We compared the efficacy of two memory training schedules, adjusted spaced retrieval and uniform expanded retrieval, for learning a name-face association in 12 older adults with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nine training sessions were administered on alternate days for three weeks. Results yielded a positive effect of adjusted spaced retrieval on the proportion of correct recall trials and greater success in transferring the learned information to the live target, compared to the uniform expanded retrieval schedule. These data suggest that the spacing effect may underlie the memorial benefit of spaced retrieval. Implications for practical uses of spaced retrieval are considered.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/therapy , Association Learning , Face , Memory, Short-Term , Mental Recall , Pattern Recognition, Visual , Retention, Psychology , Verbal Learning , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis , Alzheimer Disease/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Practice, Psychological , Transfer, PsychologyABSTRACT
In this study, college students and mental health professionals completed the Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire, Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Test and the Fraboni Scale of Ageism before and after a lecture on normal and pathological memory issues in adulthood. Results confirmed that professionals were more knowledgeable about memory aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and less ageist than college students. Analyses of pre- and post-lecture response accuracy yielded comparable benefits in memory aging and AD knowledge for both groups. Correlation analyses provided modest evidence for the influence of ageist attitudes on the knowledge measures. Implications for memory education programs and psychology curriculum are considered.
Subject(s)
Aging/physiology , Alzheimer Disease/epidemiology , Attitude to Health , Cognition , Health Personnel , Memory Disorders/epidemiology , Mental Health Services , Professional Competence , Students , Universities , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
The Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire (KMAQ) measures laypersons' knowledge of memory changes in adulthood for research or educational purposes. Half of the questions pertain to normal memory aging and the other half cover pathological memory deficits due to non-normative factors, such as adult dementia. In this study, we compared memory knowledge in middle age adults (40-59 years), young-old adults (60-79 years) and very old adults (80 years and over). These data were collected as a part of the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study, a multidisciplinary population-based study that examines the determinants of healthy aging in adulthood. Results indicated that very old adults performed more poorly overall. Follow-up analyses revealed that they endorsed stereotyped views of normal memory aging more often than did the other age groups. Analyses of response accuracy by gender yielded comparable performance for men and women. Implications for research and the design of educational programs are considered.
Subject(s)
Aging , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Memory Disorders , Memory , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Six older adults with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) were trained to recall a name-face association using the spaced-retrieval method. We administered six training sessions over a 2-week period. On each trial, participants selected a target photograph and stated the target name, from eight other photographs, at increasingly longer retention intervals. Results yielded a positive effect of spaced-retrieval training for name-face recognition. All participants were able to select the target photograph and state the target's name for longer periods of time within and across training sessions. A live-person transfer task was administered to determine whether the name-face association, trained by spaced-retrieval, would transfer to a live person. Half of the participants were able to call the live person by the correct name. These data provide initial evidence that spaced-retrieval training can aid older adults with probable AD in recall of a name-face association and in transfer of that association to an actual person.
