Memory accuracy in old age: Cognitive, metacognitive, and neurocognitive determinants

Age differences in memory accuracy were examined within a conceptual framework specifying the mediating role of metacognitive monitoring and control processes (Koriat & Goldsmith, 1996b). Replicating previous results, older adults showed poorer memory quantity and accuracy performance compared to young adults. Even when memory quantity performance was equated, by dividing the young adults' attention during encoding, the difference in memory accuracy was not eliminated. Examination of the underlying metacognitive processes revealed that the age-related reduction in memory accuracy stemmed partly from less effective memory monitoring, apparently the result of poorer encoding, and also from differences in two aspects of metacognitive control: (1) a more liberal report criterion - greater tendency to volunteer incorrect (and correct) answers, and (2) reduced control sensitivity - less reliance on subjective monitoring as a basis for responding. This latter control reduction was associated with lower neuropsychological measures of executive functioning, suggesting a decline in frontal-lobe efficiency.