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Age-related differences in adults' ability to follow spoken instructions.

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Jaroslawska, Agnieszka J  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1358-7512
Bartup, Glen 
Forsberg, Alicia 
Holmes, Joni 

Abstract

A growing body of research illustrates that working memory capacity is a crucial limiting factor in our ability to follow spoken instructions. Despite the ubiquitous nature of instruction following throughout the lifespan, how the natural ageing process affects the ability to do so is not yet fully understood. In this study, we investigated the consequences of action at encoding and recall on the ability to follow spoken instructions. Younger (< 30 y/o) and older (> 65 y/o) adults recalled sequences of spoken action commands under presentation and recall conditions that either did or did not involve their physical performance. Both groups showed an enacted-recall advantage, with superior recall by physical performance than oral repetition. When both encoding and recall were purely verbal, older adults' recall accuracy was comparable to that of their younger counterparts. When action was involved at either encoding or recall, however, the difference in performance between the two age groups became pronounced: enactment-based encoding significantly improved younger adults' ability to follow spoken instructions; there was no such advantage for older adults. These data show that spatial-motoric representations disproportionately benefit younger adults' memory performance. We discuss the practical implications of these findings in the context of lifelong learning.

Description

Keywords

action advantage, ageing, enactment, following instructions, working memory, Aged, Aging, Cognition, Humans, Learning, Memory, Short-Term, Mental Recall

Journal Title

Memory

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0965-8211
1464-0686

Volume Title

29

Publisher

Informa UK Limited

Rights

All rights reserved
Sponsorship
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00005/2)