Aging and the accessibility of performed and to-be-performed actions

Freeman, J.E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6457-8171 and Ellis, J.A. (2003) Aging and the accessibility of performed and to-be-performed actions. Aging Neuropsychology and Cognition, 10 (4). pp. 298-309. ISSN 1382-5585 doi: 10.1076/anec.10.4.298.28975

Abstract/Summary

In young adults information designated for future enactment is more readily accessible from memory than information not intended for enactment (e.g. Goschke & Kuhl, 1993). We examined whether this advantage for to-be-enacted material is reduced in older adults and thus whether attenuated action accessibility could underlie age-associated declines in prospective remembering. Young and older adults showed an equivalent increase in accessibility (faster recognition latencies) for to-be-enacted items over items intended for verbal report. Both age groups also showed increased accessibility for actions performed at encoding compared with verbally encoded items. Moreover, these effects were non-additive, suggesting similarities in the representation of completed and to-be-completed actions.