AGING, METAMEMORY, AND STRATEGY USE DURING LEARNING

提出了四个研究领域，在元认知框架内系统地评估联想学习的年龄相关差异。该框架的一个中心假设是，人们通过(1)利用他们对认知要求任务的知识来选择排练策略，(2)监控正在进行的学习和表现，以及(3)利用这种监控来调节控制学习和表现的控制过程来积极参与学习新材料。我们的长期目标包括发现自主学习的这些方面如何影响学习速度和学习的年龄差异。拟议的研究涉及四个独立的领域。总的来说，提出的实验涉及使用配对联想学习和回忆来研究元认知、策略和学习。区域1代表了将上一个资助周期中获得的关于衰老、元认知和策略使用的知识应用于老年人新的独特培训计划的关键一步，该计划同时重构了对年龄和学习的负面信念，培训了相关的学习策略，并培训了在学习过程中使用自我测试（一种使用监测指导学习的实用方法）。区域2建立在已完成或正在进行的工作基础上，表明与年龄相关的认知系统监测能力的保留。研究人员关注影响监测相对和绝对准确性的因素，并评估自发（非指导）策略使用的年龄差异。区域3将注意力集中在联想学习中使用的中介策略的性质上，扩展了在上一个资助周期中开发的测量策略自我报告的新方法，以评估自发（非指导）策略使用的年龄差异。区域4评估监测的使用，以指导配对伙伴的自定节奏研究，部分通过创建新的元认知判断，这应该有助于解释在监测使用中已经确定的年龄差异。从这四个领域获得的结果对联想学习的年龄差异具有重要的理论意义，也将为如何构建培训和干预方案以帮助老年人优化日常情况下的学习提供有价值的信息。

Four areas of research are proposed that systematically evaluate age-related differences in associative learning within a metacognitive framework. A central assumption of this framework is that people actively participate in learning new material by (1) utilizing their knowledge about cognitively demanding tasks to select rehearsal strategies, (2) monitoring on-going learning and performance, and (3) utilizing such monitoring to regulate control processes that govern learning and performance. Our long-term objectives include discovering how each of these aspects of self-directed learning influences the rate of learning and age differences in learning. The proposed research involves four separate areas of effort. In general, the proposed experiments involve the use of paired-associate learning and recall to study metacognition, strategies, and learning. Area 1 represents a critical step toward implementing knowledge about aging, metacognition, and strategy use gained in the last funding cycle in a new and unique training program for older adults that simultaneously restructures negative beliefs about age and learning, trains relevant strategies for learning, and trains the use of self-testing (a practical method for using monitoring to guide study) during learning. Area 2 builds on work completed or in progress indicating age-related sparing of the ability to monitor the cognitive system. The investigators focus on factors that influence both relative and absolute accuracy of monitoring, and evaluate age differences in spontaneous (uninstructed) strategy use. Area 3 directs attention to the nature of mediational strategies used during associative learning, extending work with new methods for measuring strategy self-reports developed in the last funded cycle to evaluate age differences in spontaneous (uninstructed) strategy use. Area 4 evaluates the utilization of monitoring to guide self-paced study of paired-associates, in part through the creation of new metacognitive judgements that should help to explain age differences already identified in the utilization of monitoring. Outcomes obtained from all four areas have important theoretical implications for age differences in associative learning and will also provide valuable information on how to construct training and interventions programs to help older adults optimize learning in everyday situations.