Abstract
How do we best characterize the memory deficits that accompany aging? A popular hypothesis, articulated originally by Naveh-Benjamin (2000) and reviewed in the accompanying article by Smyth and Naveh-Benjamin (2016), suggests that older adults are selectively deficient in establishing associations between to-be-learned memoranda and as a result have deficits in memory for sources or contexts. An alternative proposal, called density of representations yields age-related deficits (DRYAD) and outlined in recent articles by Benjamin (2010) and colleagues (Benjamin, Diaz, Matzen, & Johnson, 2012), attributes disproportionate deficits in memory to a global, rather than a selective, deficit of memory. In an attempt to adjudicate between these competing positions, Smyth and Naveh-Benjamin (2016) discussed 2 sets of experimental data that they claim speak against the global deficit model. Here I review some general principles of how the global-deficit view is applied to experimental paradigms and demonstrate that even a simplified form of DRYAD can comfortably accommodate the critical findings cited by Smyth and Naveh-Benjamin. I also evaluate aspects of their results that may be problematic for DRYAD and describe ways in which DRYAD's account of associative recognition can be falsified. I end with a discussion of the complementary strengths and weaknesses of the 2 approaches and consider ways in which the associative deficit hypothesis and DRYAD might work more profitably together than apart.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 14-20 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Psychology and aging |
Volume | 31 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1 2016 |
Keywords
- Aging
- Associative memory
- Associative recognition
- DRYAD
- Memory
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Aging
- Geriatrics and Gerontology