Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T03:18:02.301Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Age Differences in Source Monitoring and Referent Discrimination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Trinidad Ruiz-Gallego-Largo ,
Teresa Simón  and
Aurora G. Suengas
Trinidad Ruiz-Gallego-Largo*
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Teresa Simón
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Aurora G. Suengas
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Trinidad Ruiz-Gallego-Largo, Departamento de Metodología de las Ciencias del Comportamiento, Universidad Complutense, 28223 Madrid (Spain). E-mail: truiz@psi.ucm.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In contrast to previous studies which addressed separately memory for source and referent, the present experiment analyzes the effects of aging on memory for both, source and referent. The experiment simulated a conversation between two people exchanging descriptors of themselves and the other speaker (e.g., “I am helpful,” “you are capable”). Participants (N = 60) were divided into two age groups: younger (M = 23.47 years old, SD = 2.37), older (M = 70.30 years old, SD = 3.73). Recall, recognition, and accuracy in identifying source (e.g., “who said helpful?”) and referent (e.g., “about whom was capable said?”) were analyzed. Younger and older adults recalled and recognized equally well information read by the experimenter about herself, but only young adults showed better memory for the descriptors they read about themselves. Older adults were impaired in source monitoring, but not in reference discrimination. Normal referent discrimination in older adults is attributed to the fact that the referent forms part of the content of the episode, whereas who spoke it is part of its context, and older adults tend to show greater deficits in context than in content memory. These results are explained within the source and reality monitoring framework.

A diferencia de estudios anteriores que han abordado por separado la identificación del origen y del referente de la información, este experimento analiza los efectos del envejecimiento sobre la discriminación conjunta de ambos, origen y referente. El experimento simula una conversación entre dos personas (investigadora y participante) que intercambian descriptores de sí mismas y de su interlocutora (e.g., “yo soy amable”, “tú eres capaz”). Se dividió a los participantes (N = 60) en dos grupos en función de la edad: joven (M = 23′47 años, DT = 2′37), mayor (M = 70′30 años, DT = 3′73). Se analizó recuerdo, reconocimiento y precisión en la identificación del origen (e.g., “¿quién dijo amable?”) y del referente (e.g., “¿sobre quién se dijo que era capaz?”) de los descriptores intercambiados en la conversación. Los resultados indicaron que jóvenes y mayores recordaron y reconocieron por igual la información que la experimentadora leyó sobre sí misma, pero sólo los jóvenes recordaron mejor los descriptores que ellos leyeron sobre sí mismos. Los mayores tuvieron dificultades en la identificación del origen, pero no del referente. El mantenimiento de la discriminación del referente se atribuye a que forma parte del contenido del episodio, cuyo recuerdo no está afectado por el envejecimiento. Por el contrario, el recuerdo del origen, como parte del contexto, sí se ve afectado. Los resultados se explican en el marco teórico del control del origen en la memoria.

Keywords

agingrecall and recognitionsource monitoringreference discriminationself-referencememory for conversationsenvejecimientorecuerdo y reconocimientocontrol del origendiscriminación del referenteauto-referenciarecuerdo de las conversaciones
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , March 2012 , pp. 20 - 28
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alameda, J. R., & Cuetos, F. (1995). Diccionario de frecuencia de las unidades lingüísticas del castellano [Dictionary of the frequency of linguistic units in Spanish]. Oviedo, Spain: Servicio de publicaciones de la Universidad de Oviedo.Google Scholar
Baltes, P. B., & Staudinger, U. M. (2000). Wisdom:Ametaheuristic (pragmatic) to orchestrate mind and virtue toward excellence. American Psychologist, 55, 122–136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.122CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bayen, U. J., Phelps, M. P., & Spaniol, J. (2000). Age-related differences in the use of contextual information in recognition memory: A global matching approach. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 55, 131–141. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/55.3.P131CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, A. S., Jones, E. M., & Davis, T. L. (1995). Age differences in conversational source monitoring. Psychology and Aging, 10, 111–122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.10.1.111CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Craik, F. I. M., & McDowd, J. M. (1987). Age differences in recall and recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 13, 474–479. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.13.3.474Google Scholar
Dywan, J., & Jacoby, L. L. (1990). Effects of aging on source monitoring: Differences in susceptibility to false fame. Psychology and Aging, 3, 379–387. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.5.3.379CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S., McHugh, P., & Fanjiang, G. (2001). MMSE, Mini Mental State Examination. Lutz, FL: PAR, Inc.Google Scholar
Gázquez, J. J., Pérez-Fuentes, M. C., Fernández, M., González, L., Ruiz, I., & Díaz, A. (2009). Old-age stereotypes related to the gerontology education: An integrated study. European Journal of Education and Psychology, 2, 263–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glisky, E. L., & Marquine, M. J. (2009). Semantic and self-referential processing of positive and negative trait adjectives in older adults. Memory, 17, 144–157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09658210802077405CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gopie, N., Craik, F. I. M., & Hasher, L. (2010). Destination memory impairment in older people. Psychology and Aging, 25, 922–928. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0019703CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Green, D. M., & Swets, J.A. (1966). Signal detection theory and psychophysics. New York, NY: Krieger.Google Scholar
Gutchess, A. H., Kensinger, E. A., Yoon, C., & Schacter, D. L. (2007). Aging and the self-reference effect in memory. Memory, 15, 822–837. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09658210701701394CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hashtroudi, S., Johnson, M. K., & Chrosniak, L. D. (1989). Aging and source monitoring. Psychology and Aging, 4, 106–112. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.4.1.106CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hashtroudi, S., Johnson, M. K., Vnek, N., & Ferguson, S. A. (1994). Aging and the effects of affective and factual focus on source monitoring and recall. Psychology and Aging, 9, 160–170. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.9.1.160CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Intons-Peterson, M. J., Rocchi, P., West, T., McLellan, K., & Hackney, A. (1999). Age, testing at preferred or nonpreferred times (testing optimality), and false memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 25, 23–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.25.1.23Google ScholarPubMed
Johnson, M. K., & Raye, C. L. (1981). Reality monitoring. Psychological Review, 88, 67–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.88.1.67CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, M. K., Hashtroudi, S., & Lindsay, D. S. (1993). Source monitoring. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 3–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.114.1.3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klein, S. B., & Gangi, C. E. (2010). The multiplicity of self: Neuropsychological evidence and its implications for the self as a construct in psychological research. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1191, 1–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05441.xGoogle Scholar
Koriat, A., Ben-Zur, H., & Sheffer, D. (1988). Telling the same story twice: Output monitoring and age. Journal of Memory and Language, 27, 23–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X(88)90046-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lobo, A., Saz, P., Marcos, G., & Grupo ZARADEMP (2002). MMSE, Examen Cognoscitivo Mini-Mental. Spanish language adaptation of Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S., McHugh, P., & Fanjiang, G.O (2001). MMSE, Mini Mental State Examination. PAR, Inc. Madrid, Spain: TEA Ediciones.Google Scholar
Mateos, P. M., Meilán, J. J. G., & Arana, J. M. (2002). Motivational vs. volitional mediation of passivity in institutionalized older people. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 5, 54–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McIntyre, J. S., & Craik, F. I. M. (1987). Age differences in memory for item and source information. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 41, 175–192. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0084154CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McNicol, D. (1972). A primer of Signal Detection Theory. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.Google Scholar
Mitchell, K. J., & Johnson, M. K. (2009). Source monitoring 15 years later: What have we learned from fmri about the neural mechanisms of source memory? Psychological Bulletin, 135, 638–677. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0015849CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mueller, J. H., Wonderlich, S., & Dugan, K. (1986). Self-referent processing of age-specific material. Psychology and Aging, 1, 293–299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.1.4.293CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Old, S. R., & Naveh-Benjamin, M. (2008). Differential effects of age on item and associative measures of memory: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 23, 104–118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.23.1.104CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schacter, D. L., Koutstaal, W., & Norman, K. (1997). False memories and aging. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 1, 229–236. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(97)01068-1CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simón, T., Ruiz-Gallego-Largo, T., & Suengas, A. G. (2009). Memoria y envejecimiento: recuerdo, reconocimiento y sesgo positivo [Memory and aging: Recall, recognition, and positive bias]. Psicothema, 21, 409–415.Google Scholar
Simons, J. S., Dodson, C. S., Bell, D., & Schacter, D. L. (2004). Specific and partial source memory: Effects of aging. Psychology and Aging, 19, 689–694. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.19.4.689CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spencer, W. D., & Raz, N. (1995). Differential effects of aging on memory for content and context: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 10, 527–539. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.10.4.527CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Suengas, A. G., Ruiz-Gallego-Largo, T., & Simón, T. (2010). Age-related changes in recognition and response criterion. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 13, 557–570.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Symons, C. S., & Johnson, B. T. (1997). The self-reference effect in memory:Ameta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 371–394. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.121.3.371CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Triadó, C., Villar, F., Solé, C., Celdrán, M., & Osuna, M. J. (2009). Daily activity and life satisfaction in older people living in rural contexts. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 12, 236–245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whiting, W. L. IV, & Smith, A. D. (1997). Differential age-related processing limitations in recall and recognition tasks. Psychology and Aging, 12, 216–224. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.12.2.216CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed