Brief Strategy Training in Aging: Near Transfer Effects and Mediation of Gains by Improved Self-Regulation.

A common approach to cognitive intervention for adults is memory strategy training, but limited work of this type has examined intervention effects in relation to self-regulation (e.g., strategy usage, memory beliefs) and few have established near transfer (training-related performance gain on untrained tasks related to the target task). The present research, Everyday Memory Clinic-Revised (EMC-R), examined whether relatively brief face-name association training, offering elements focused on self-regulation, can improve name recall, enhance memory self-regulation, and lead to near transfer. Participants were 122 healthy, well-educated middle-aged and older adults (51-90 years old) randomly assigned to a strategy training program (SO), a comparable program with a theoretical self-regulatory boost (SB), or a waitlist control group. Compared to the waitlist group, both groups of trainees demonstrated higher pretest-posttest improvements in name recall (target task), memory self-efficacy, and effective strategy use, as well as the near transfer of gains to nontrained associative tasks, a rare finding in strategy training research. Furthermore, changes in memory self-efficacy and strategy use fully mediated the effect of training on name recall. This innovative approach for brief memory intervention offers a model for successful training that can be easily disseminated via community centers and lifelong learning programs.

The Impact of Naturalistic Age Stereotype Activation.

Almost self-fulfilling, commonly held negative stereotypes about old age and memory can impair older adults' episodic memory performance, due to age-based stereotype threat or self-stereotyping effects. Research studies demonstrating detrimental impacts of age stereotypes on memory performance are generally conducted in research laboratories or medical settings, which often underestimate memory abilities of older adults. To better understand the "real world" impact of negative age and memory stereotypes on episodic memory, the present research tested story recall performance of late middle-aged and older adults (N = 51) following a naturalistic age stereotype manipulation, wherein every day, newspaper-style materials (comics and puzzles) were either embedded with negative age and memory stereotype stimuli (stereotype group) or neutral stimuli (control group). Furthermore, all participants were tested in favorable, familiar environments. Potential moderators of the stereotype effects, e.g., metamemory beliefs, were assessed at baseline. Current memory evaluation and subjective age, as well as perceived stereotype threat and task-related anxiety, were assessed following the stereotype manipulation as potential mechanisms of the expected stereotype effects. Results suggested a contrast effect, as the stereotype group demonstrated superior story recall performance compared to the control group. Marginally significant moderation effects by age and perceived stereotype threat indicated that stereotype rejection was present for late middle-aged adults but not older adults, indicative of stereotype lift, and for individuals who reported low and average, but not high, levels of perceived stereotype threat. Additionally, a trend suggested more positive memory evaluation for those in the stereotype group who reported awareness of the stereotype stimuli than those who did not notice the stimuli. These results are consistent with other research demonstrating benefits to memory performance in adulthood based on motivational and contextual factors, such as using relevant memory materials and testing in favorable conditions. Moreover, the results of this study contribute to our understanding of individuals' responses to different types of stereotype stimuli, and the differential impact of stereotype manipulations that are subtle versus blatant. Individuals were motivated to counteract negative stereotype effects when conditions were supportive, stereotype presentations were naturalistic, and personal beliefs were positive.

The effects of age, control beliefs, and feedback on self-regulation of reading and problem solving.

The authors examined the effects of adult age and control beliefs on self-regulatory responses to feedback using a false-feedback paradigm. Young and older adults read and attempted to solve a series of problems and periodically received either high- or low-performance feedback. Self-regulatory processes were assessed in terms of task-specific beliefs consisting of self-efficacy and performance expectations as well as degree of attention allocated to reading the mysteries. Results showed that high-performance feedback increased self-efficacy and performance expectations relative to low-performance feedback and that these effects were comparable across levels of preexisting control beliefs and across age groups. However, the effects of feedback on attention were moderated by age and preexisting control beliefs. Older adults in the high-performance feedback condition who had high levels of control beliefs allocated more attention to the text than did their low-control peers. These findings suggest that positive feedback may encourage older adults to engage more fully in a reading task, but only when they possess a strong sense of control.

Own-age bias in face-name associations: Evidence from memory and visual attention in younger and older adults.

Successfully learning and remembering people's names is a challenging memory task for adults of all ages, and this already difficult social skill worsens with age, even in normative "healthy" aging. The own-age bias, a type of in-group bias, could affect the difficulty of this task across age. Past evidence supports an own-age bias in face processing, wherein individuals preferably attend to and better recognize faces of members of their own age group. However, the own-age bias has not been examined previously in relation to explicit face-name associative encoding and subsequent name retrieval, despite the importance of this social skill. Using behavioral and eye-tracking methodology, this cross-sectional research investigated the own-age bias for name memory (recognition and recall) and visual attention (fixation count, looking time, and normalized pupil size) when learning novel face-name pairs. Younger adult (n = 90) and older adult (n = 84) participants completed a face-name association task that tested name memory for younger and older female and male faces, while eye-tracking data were recorded. The visual attention variables taken from the eye-tracking data showed significant age-of-face effects at both encoding and retrieval, but no overall own-age bias in attention. Both younger and older participants showed an own-age bias in name recall with better memory for names paired with faces of their own age, as compared to other-aged faces. This cross-over effect for name memory suggests that memory for information with high social and affective relevance to the individual may be relatively spared in aging, despite overall age-related declines in memory performance.

The relative success of a self-help and a group-based memory training program for older adults.

This study evaluates self-help and group-based memory training programs to test for their differential impact on memory beliefs and performance. Self-help participants used a manual that presented strategies for name, story, and list recall and practice exercises. Matched content from that same manual was presented by the trainer in 2-hr weekly group sessions for the group-based trainees. Relative to a wait-list control group, most memory measures showed significant gains for both self-help and group-based training, with no significant training condition differences, and these gains were maintained at follow-up. Belief measures showed that locus of control was significantly higher for the self-help and group-based training than the control group; memory self-efficacy significantly declined for controls, increased for group-trained participants, and remained constant in the self-help group. Self-efficacy change in a self-help group may require more opportunities for interacting with peers and/or an instructor emphasizing one's potential for memory change.

Goals-feedback conditions and episodic memory: Mechanisms for memory gains in older and younger adults.

Research has established that challenging memory goals always lead to score increases for younger adults, and can increase older adults' scores under supportive conditions. This study examined beliefs and on-task effort as potential mechanisms for these self-regulatory gains, in particular to learn whether episodic memory gains across multiple trials of shopping list recall are controlled by the same factors for young and old people. Goals with feedback led to higher recall and strategic categorisation than a control condition. Strategy usage was the strongest predictor of gains over trials for both age groups. Age, goal condition, and effort also predicted scores across the entire sample. Older adults' gains, but not younger adults' gains, were affected significantly by the interaction of self-efficacy beliefs and goal condition, and condition interacted with locus of control to predict younger adult gains. These results emphasise the importance of self-regulatory effort and positive beliefs for facilitating goal-related memory gains.

Development of a hearing aid self-efficacy questionnaire.

Discontinued hearing-aid use is caused by a number of factors, most of which may lead to low hearing-aid self-efficacy (i.e. low confidence in one's ability to B a successful hearing-aid user). This paper describes the development of the Measure of Audiologic Rehabilitation Self-Efficacy for Hearing Aids (MARS-HA), which was constructed in accordance with published recommendations for self-efficacy questionnaire development. The psychometric properties of the MARS-HA were evaluated with new and experienced hearing-aid users. The results revealed strong internal consistency and good test-retest reliability in both groups, with the following subscales identified both for the new users and the experienced users: (1) basic handling, (2) advanced handling, (3) adjustment to hearing aids, and (4) aided listening skills. Validity was established through the examination of expected differences based on group comparisons, training effects, and the impact of particular hearing aid features. The MARS-HA is a reliable and valid measure of hearing-aid self-efficacy and can be used to assist clinicians in identifying areas of low confidence that require additional audiologic training.

Possible Selves and Self-Regulatory Beliefs: Exploring the Relationship Between Health Selves, Health Efficacy, and Psychological Well-Being.

The present study identified middle-aged (ages 40-64) and older individuals (ages 65-90) who reported a highly important possible self related to health. The relationship between age, physical health, health efficacy, and psychological well-being were examined among these individuals. We tested a model in which health efficacy predicted both positive and negative psychological well-being. For both age groups, self-reported health predicted health self-efficacy; however, the direct effects of health efficacy on both positive and negative psychological well-being were also significant. Higher levels of health efficacy were associated with higher levels of positive psychological well-being and lower levels of negative well-being, as predicted. Physical health indirectly predicted well-being through its impact on health self-efficacy for middle-aged and older individuals who valued their health highly. Overall, these results support the notion that health efficacy related to a most important health self is a predictor of psychological well-being in mid and late life.

Memory and goal setting: the response of older and younger adults to positive and objective feedback.

Earlier research suggested that goal setting for memory does not have the same advantages for older adults as for younger adults. Using ideal goal-setting conditions with individualized goals, the authors compared goals plus positive feedback, goals plus objective feedback, and control. Performance increased over trials and was higher for both goal conditions than for control. The positive feedback condition showed the highest goal commitment and motivation. Older adults showed strong performance gains and more motivation and goal commitment than the young. The results showed that older adults can benefit from goal setting under optimal learning and feedback conditions.

Memory performance and beliefs as a function of goal setting and aging.

This research examined the impact of goals on memory and memory beliefs. Older and younger adults completed memory beliefs questionnaires and list recall at baseline. After additional recall trials, the questionnaires were repeated. In Experiment 1, participants were assigned to low challenge or high challenge goals. In Experiment 2, moderate challenge goals were compared to control. In both studies, participants were given a specific goal based on their own performance and received positive feedback for memory gains. Both older and younger adults responded to the goals, showing improved performance across trials, with little change in the control condition. Memory beliefs changed in the moderate and low challenge goal conditions, showing more striking changes for the older groups. These results confirmed that self-regulatory processes related to goal setting can have considerable impact on memory across the adult life span.

Aging and memory control beliefs: performance in relation to goal setting and memory self-evaluation.

We examined memory control beliefs in relation to memory performance and beliefs in the context of goal setting. Control beliefs showed significant effects on performance and self-efficacy. Higher goals were set by high-control younger adults than by older adults and low-control younger adults. Individuals with a high sense of control performed higher and maintained performance over trials regardless of whether they set explicit goals. Those with low control (primarily older adults) performed lower, but they achieved increased performance when motivated by goals. These results emphasized that performance limitations associated with low control can be overcome with goals, even in older adults. As with previous studies, however, younger adults showed a more positive response to goals than older adults.

Age differences in eyewitness memory for a realistic event.

OBJECTIVES: To better understand the effects of misinformation on eyewitnesses of different ages, older and younger adults experienced an event under intentional and incidental learning conditions in a naturalistic experiment using multiple memory tests. METHOD: Following exposure to the event, which was a brief interruption of a group testing session, participants completed several memory tests. For half of the participants, misinformation was embedded in the first cued recall test. On subsequent free recall and cued recall tests, basic scores and misinformation-based memory errors were examined. RESULTS: As expected, younger adults had higher recall scores than older adults. Older and younger adults made the same number of misinformation errors in free recall and in cued recall with intentional learning. However, in the incidental condition, younger adults made more misinformation errors likely due to the information processing strategies they employed after incidental learning. DISCUSSION: Misinformation effects were quite strong, even with a realistic scene and intentional learning. Older adult suggestibility was no worse than that of younger adults. When misinformation was combined with incidental learning, younger adults may have used strategic processing to encode misinformation to their detriment.

Health hopes and fears for the future in relation to health behavior and current health status.

We examined the relationships among age, health, beliefs, and possible-selves. Using a new approach based on health-related possible-selves, young-old and older individuals were separated into specific health types: (1) improvement or maintenance health hopes and (2) preventable or unpreventable health fears. The young-old perceived greater capability to achieve health hopes and reported more health activities than older individuals; the older group reported more maintenance than improvement. More unpreventable fears were related to experiencing higher pain and worse physical functioning. Health types provide useful information about individual differences in health behavior and beliefs and are sensitive to current health status.

Goal orientation and self-efficacy in relation to memory in adulthood.

The achievement goal framework (Dweck, 1986, American Psychologist, 41, 1040) has been well-established in children and college-students, but has rarely been examined empirically with older adults. The current study, including younger and older adults, examined the effects of memory self-efficacy, learning goals (focusing on skill mastery over time) and performance goals (focusing on performance outcome evaluations) on memory performance. Questionnaires measured memory self-efficacy and general orientation toward learning and performance goals; free and cued recall was assessed in a subsequent telephone interview. As expected, age was negatively related and education was positively related to memory self-efficacy, and memory self-efficacy was positively related to memory, in a structural equation model. Age was also negatively related to memory performance. Results supported the positive impact of learning goals and the negative impact of performance goals on memory self-efficacy. There was no significant direct effect of learning or performance goals on memory performance; their impact occurred via their effect on memory self-efficacy. The present study supports past research suggesting that learning goals are beneficial, and performance goals are maladaptive, for self-efficacy and learning, and validates the achievement goal framework in a sample including older adults.

Self-regulation and recall: growth curve modeling of intervention outcomes for older adults.

Memory training has often been supported as a potential means to improve performance for older adults. Less often studied are the characteristics of trainees that benefit most from training. Using a self-regulatory perspective, the current project examined a latent growth curve model to predict training-related gains for middle-aged and older adult trainees from individual differences (e.g., education), information processing skills (strategy use) and self-regulatory factors such as self-efficacy, control, and active engagement in training. For name recall, a model including strategy usage and strategy change as predictors of memory gain, along with self-efficacy and self-efficacy change, showed comparable fit to a more parsimonious model including only self-efficacy variables as predictors. The best fit to the text recall data was a model focusing on self-efficacy change as the main predictor of memory change, and that model showed significantly better fit than a model also including strategy usage variables as predictors. In these models, overall performance was significantly predicted by age and memory self-efficacy, and subsequent training-related gains in performance were best predicted directly by change in self-efficacy (text recall), or indirectly through the impact of active engagement and self-efficacy on gains (name recall). These results underscore the benefits of targeting self-regulatory factors in intervention programs designed to improve memory skills.

Regular consumption of concord grape juice benefits human immunity.

γδ T cells are important immune surveillance cells residing in epithelial layers lining the intestine, lung, and reproductive tract. The main objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that consumption of dietary compounds from grapes would modify γδ T-cell function. Other factors related to immune function after grape juice consumption were also tested. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel intervention was conducted: 100% grape juice made from Concord grapes or a placebo beverage was consumed by 85 individuals daily for 9 weeks. Subjects were asked not to consume other red, blue, and purple fruits during the study. Blood samples, taken at the beginning and the end, were analyzed for γδ T-cell numbers and proliferation, vitamin C, antioxidant capacity, and the ability to protect DNA from strand breaks. Those consuming the grape juice had significantly greater numbers of circulating γδ T cells and higher serum vitamin C levels compared to the placebo by two-way repeated-measure analysis of variance (P < .05). Individuals consuming the placebo had lower serum antioxidant activity, less γδ T-cell proliferation, and increased DNA strand breaks when challenged with H(2)O(2). Analysis of the data by structural equation modeling confirmed that 61% of the variance in biological functions at 9 weeks was due to grape juice consumption. Based on conventional statistical analyses, as well as on sophisticated modeling techniques, regular consumption of purple grape juice in the absence of other red, blue, or purple fruits benefited immunity in healthy, middle-aged human subjects.

Assessing compliance: active versus inactive trainees in a memory intervention.

Extensive research on memory interventions has confirmed their success with older adults, but the individual difference factors that predict successful training outcomes remain relatively unexplored. In the current intervention, trainees were identified as active (compliant with training regimens) or inactive using trainer ratings based on attendance, homework completion, and class participation. The active group showed significantly greater training-related gains than the inactive group and the control group on most measures. Compliance was predicted by health, education, and self-efficacy. Specifically, active trainees were more likely to have advanced degrees and somewhat higher self-efficacy, and to have higher vitality and fewer functional limitations than the inactive trainees. This research may assist future investigators to target interventions to those who will show the most benefit.

The impact of group size on memory and memory beliefs: a methodological report.

Two studies examined the impact of group size on interview results for older and younger adults. Both studies assessed memory performance over multiple trials, as well as memory beliefs. The second study also examined the relationship of state anxiety to group size, in the context of a motivational goals-feedback paradigm. Correlational data in both studies showed no relationship between group size and memory performance or memory beliefs. In the second study, larger groups were associated with greater arousal, and with reduced self-efficacy, for the older adult participants only. Although group size effects approached significance on several other measures, these results indicated that group size is not a critical factor in cognition, nor is it a confound when examining the outcomes of multi-trial list learning studies.