Using orthographic neighborhood size manipulations to investigate memory deficits in aging memory

Glanc, Gina A.; Logan, Jessica M.; Grime, Megan; Anuwe, Antonette; Thompson, Janelle

Abstract

In three previous studies, manipulations of orthographic neighborhood size and orienting task were used to differentiate between item-specific and rela-tional processing in young adults (aged 18–35) in standard recognition tasks. The current study attempts to investigate memory deficits in older adults (aged 65+) using similar manipulations. Experiment 1 manipulated orthographic neighbor-hood size within an item recognition task. Young adults demonstrated a standard mirror effect, showing more accurate performance for low-N words. No such effect was found in older adults, possibly indicating a deficit in item-specific process-ing. Experiment 2 included an orienting task during study to emphasize a specific type of processing. While younger adults’ performance was influenced by orienting task, older adults showed consistently better performance for High-N words. These results suggest that older adults show a deficit in item-specific processing, relying more on relational processing regardless of task.

Citation

Glanc, G. A., Logan, J. M., Grime, M., Anuwe, A., & Thompson, J. (2016). Using orthographic neighborhood size manipulations to investigate memory deficits in aging memory. Cogent Psychology, 3(1), Article 1220445. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2016.1220445

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 1, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Aug 22, 2016
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2016
• Deposit Date: May 19, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: May 20, 2021
• Journal: Cogent Psychology
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 1220445
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2016.1220445
• Keywords: recognition memory; relational processing; item-specific processing; orthographic neighborhood size; orienting task; aging memory; memory deficits
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2773912