Data for Age Differences in the Implementation of Knowledge and Experience to Support Memory

Ageing results in the decline of both physical and cognitive abilities and the most widespread cognitive decline is a reduction in memory ability. Recent research has found that when information is consistent with an individual’s knowledge and experience, it is easier to remember than abstract information and older adults appear to benefit from this effect more than do young adults.

For example, when people are asked to remember an association between two words, age differences in memory performance are smaller for related word pairs (article-book, fatigue-sleep) compared to unrelated word pairs (article-lapel, fatigue-glass). It may therefore be possible to improve memory, particularly for older adults, by encouraging individuals to use knowledge and information that they are familiar with to support memory processes.