AGING METAMEMORY AND STRATEGY USE DURING LEARNING

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Three areas of research are proposed that systematically evaluate age- related differences in learning within a metacognitive framework. A central assumption of this framework is that people actively participate in memory- related tasks. While attempting to master new material, people (a) utilize their metamemorial knowledge about the task demands to select rehearsal strategies, (b) monitor on-going learning, and (c) utilize such monitoring to regulate various aspects of study. Long-term objectives include discovering how each of these aspects of on-going, self-directed learning both influence the rate of learning and mediate any age-related differences in learning. The proposed research entails three areas of related research studies. It involves multiple experimental tasks that employ variants of paired associate learning and recall. Most of the experiments employ extreme age groups (young vs. old) designs to evaluate age differences in leaning and recall. Research in Area 1 focuses on possible age differences in the ability to monitor various aspects of the memory system that have been shown to be important for the regulation of learning in younger adults. It will (a) test the hypothesis that older adults differ in their ability to monitor performance with reference to strategy effectiveness and (b) examine additional aspects of memory monitoring that are crucial for guiding learning, including especially different kinds of judgments of learning made during study of materials. Area 2 focuses on determining whether there are age differences in (a) spontaneous use of strategies, (b)effectiveness of strategy use, and (c) the time taken to implement such strategies. The proposed experiments will enable examination of production deficiency and mediational deficiency accounts of age differences in rate and level of associative learning. The final experiment in Area 2 evaluates the hypothesis that knowledge and beliefs about memory and learning strategies will be associated with spontaneous selection and effective use of mediational strategies. Area 3 will evaluate the degree to which individuals regulate their on-going learning by monitoring memory and strategy effectiveness. A central hypothesis is that older adults do not spontaneously initiate behaviors that will enhance their learning. A new experimental task will permit a test of the hypothesis that older adults can effectively monitor learning under explicit instructions to do so, but that they do not spontaneously implement a strategy of using monitoring to control and optimize the learning process. Outcomes obtained from all three areas have important theoretical implications for age differences in associative learning and will also provide valuable information on how to construct training and intervention programs to help older adults optimize learning in everyday situations.