As the nature of work is rapidly changing, organizations in developed nations all over the world are experiencing shifts in the age composition of their workforces. These changes, which include an aging workforce that is becoming increasingly age-diverse, indicate that organizational researchers and practitioners need to be better aware of how age differences manifest themselves in the workplace and what implications this has for effective employee management. In the current study it is proposed that employees of different ages react differently to various elements of a formal performance feedback event. Specifically, Carstensen's developmental Socio-emotional Selectivity Theory is used as a theoretical backing for explaining how and why employees of different ages perceive and react to performance feedback differently based on their perceptions of the valence, content quality, and delivery quality of the feedback. The results show evidence of age differences in feedback reactions, with younger adults being particularly concerned with information that will benefit them in the future and older adults being particularly concerned with information that conveys a positive relationship with one's supervisor. These findings have both conceptual and practical implications as we seek to build workplace aging theory and find ways to better manage and retain valuable employees of all ages in a changing world of work.

Prospective memory also known as remembering to remember is the process of remembering to carry out future actions. The present study investigated age-related differences in the performance of two complex prospective memory tasks for 30 younger adults (M = 19.43, SD = 2.10) and 30 older adults (M = 66.87, SD = 3.25). The two tasks had the same constraints, but were framed within different contexts (i.e., taking medications or scheduling groups). Participants performed the tasks within a simulated week based on activities they perform as part of their weekly routine, and they were given 30 minutes to develop plans to help them remember the tasks. Older adults were as accurate as younger adults in developing their plans for both tasks, but made significantly more errors in carrying out the prospective tasks. Planning style was not directly predictive of performance for the group task. However, age-related differences in performance for the medication task were related to planning style such that age-related declines in performance were observed for older adults who used a planning style that did not provide adequate memory support (i.e., list layout with time cues). Moreover, participants of all ages with lower levels of planning experience were more likely to select this ineffective planning style. These findings provide evidence that age-related differences in prospective memory can be ameliorated through the use of a familiar task and the opportunity to develop plans to remember the task. However, if participants develop an ineffective plan they will show performance decrements.

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A sample of 25 idiopathic Parkinson's disease subjects and 25 age and education matched elderly healthy control subjects were assessed for their speed of primary memory scanning speed using the Sternberg memory scanning paradigm. In addition, all patients were assessed for cognitive functioning as measured by the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale and the Wechsler Memory Scale. Significant differences were found between Parkinson's disease subjects and control subjects on speed of primary memory scanning, with the parkinsonian subjects performing significantly slower than the control subjects. Increased variability in the measure of memory scanning speed was noted for the parkinsonian subjects as compared to control subjects and different variables associated with increased cognitive disturbances in parkinsonian subjects were investigated as possible sources of this variability. It was found that the majority of variance could be accounted for by the parkinsonian subjects' age of symptom onset. Parkinsonian subjects who developed the disease later in life were significantly slower at primary memory scanning speed than were either parkinsonian subjects who developed the disease earlier in life, or than healthy control subjects. Cognitive variables measuring initiation and perseveration, construction and attention were found to be highly associated with increased primary memory scanning time. The relationship between these cognitive abilities and frontal lobe dysfunction is discussed. Also, the possible relationship between slowing of memory scanning and dopamine depletion is presented.