This experiment investigated memory changes across the adult lifespan and some factors
that might be associated with these changes. Adult participants of all ages (16 to 83 years old)
were asked to orally describe scenic color photographs, and then following a delay, to re-describe
these pictures from memory. Given information is objective, physical objects and their
attributes that are depicted in a target picture, whereas beyond information is subjective, personal
experiences and inferences that are not depicted in a target picture per se but are associated with
a target picture. Chapter 3 examined the content of these picture descriptions for the amount of
given and beyond information that was encoded and retrieved about target pictures. The results
indicated an age-related decline in memory for given information and preserved memory for
beyond information. Chapter 4 examined the relationship between perceptual and verbal ability
and memory for given and beyond information. Perceptual ability was assessed by self-report
measures of auditory and visual ability and verbal ability was measured by a standardized test.
The results indicated that an age-related improvement in verbal ability, but not an age-related
decline in perceptual ability, was related to memory for given and beyond information. Chapter
5 explored age-related changes in memory for feminine and masculine information across the
adult female lifespan. Feminine and masculine information is information that would be
considered exclusively relevant to young women and men, respectively. The results indicated an
age-related increase in memory for feminine information and no age-related change in memory
for masculine information. The divergent age-related changes in memory for given and beyond
information and for feminine and masculine information were interpreted in terms of a
developmental approach to schema theory and the lifespan psychology notions of selective
optimization with compensation and loss in the service of growth. The present study suggests an
integration between the domains of personality and cognitive psychology as one avenue for
future research that could lead to a more complete understanding of memory and aging.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/10190 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Mori, Monica Sachiko |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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