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The Appearance and Disappearance of Age Differences in Adult Memory

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Aging and Cognitive Processes

Abstract

Over the past two decades there has been much support for the commonly held belief that memory deteriorates in later adulthood. However, there has been less progress towards understanding the basis of this decline. Moreover, under some conditions age differences have not been observed. Contrasting the situations in which deficits are and are not observed should be instructive for gaining an understanding of age-related changes in memory. The present chapter includes a presentation of some of our research in which age deficits have been observed and a discussion of how the deficits often have been attenuated and sometimes eliminated. Finally, an attempt is made to integrate these results, as well as other findings in the literature, in a way that may shed light on the mechanisms underlying memory change in adulthood.

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© 1982 Plenum Press, New York

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Perlmutter, M., Mitchell, D.B. (1982). The Appearance and Disappearance of Age Differences in Adult Memory. In: Craik, F.I.M., Trehub, S. (eds) Aging and Cognitive Processes. Advances in the Study of Communication and Affect, vol 8. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4178-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4178-9_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-4180-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-4178-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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