Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Paying attention to binding: Further studies assessing the role of reduced attentional resources in the associative deficit of older adults

  • Published:
Memory & Cognition Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present experiments investigated whether the observed associative deficit in older adults’ episodic memory is mediated by a reduction of attentional resources. Using a dual-task procedure, younger and older participants studied lists of word pairs either under full attention or while performing a concurrent task. Both experiments showed that dividing attention did not cause a greater impairment to memory for associations than to memory for items in either age group. Furthermore, an analysis of concurrent task performance revealed that older adults’ attentional costs for both learning and binding items were not larger than for learning items alone, relative to younger adults. These data provide support for a multicausal interpretation of older adults’ memory deficits in which common, depleted attentional resources may be a mechanism that reduces memory for components of an episode in both older and younger adults under divided attention at encoding. In addition, older adults have a unique deficit in memory for the associations between the components, which does not seem to be resource dependent.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson, N. D., Craik, F. I. M., &Naveh-Benjamin, M. (1998). The attentional demands of encoding and retrieval in younger and older adults: 1. Evidence from divided attention costs.Psychology & Aging,13, 405–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, N. D., Iidaka, T., Cabeza, R., Kapur, S., McIntosh, A. R., &Craik, F. I. M. (2000). The effects of divided attention on encodingand retrieval-related brain activity: A PET study of younger and older adults.Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience,12, 775–792.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bastin, C., &Van der Linden, M. (2005). The effects of aging on the recognition of different types of associations.Experimental Aging Research,32, 61–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bayen, U. J., Phelps, M. P., &Spaniol, J. (2000). Age-related differences in the use of contextual information in recognition memory: A global matching approach.Journals of Gerontology,55B, P131-P141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cabeza, R., Anderson, N. D., Houle, S., Mangels, J. A., &Nyberg, L. (2000). Age-related differences in neural activity during item and temporal-order memory retrieval: A positron emission tomography study.Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience,12, 197–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castel, A. D., &Craik, F. I. M. (2003). The effects of aging and divided attention on memory for item and associative information.Psychology & Aging,18, 873–885.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chalfonte, B. L., &Johnson, M. K. (1996). Feature memory and binding in young and older adults.Memory & Cognition,24, 403–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y., &Blanchard-Fields, F. (2000). Unwanted thought: Age differences in the correction of social judgments.Psychology & Aging,15, 475–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, N. J., &Eichenbaum, H. (1993).Memory, amnesia, and the hippocampal system. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, E. E., &Wojan, T. J. (2000). Differences in the coding of spatial relations in face identification and basic-level object recognition.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,26, 470–488.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craik, F. I. M. (1982). Selective changes in encoding as a function of reduced processing capacity. In F. Klix, J. Hoffman, & E. van der Meer (Eds.),Cognitive research in psychology (pp. 152–161). Berlin: Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craik, F. I. M. (1983). On the transfer of information from temporary to permanent memory.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London: Series B,302, 341–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craik, F. I. M. (1986). A functional account of age differences in memory. In F. Klix & H. Hagendorf (Eds.),Human memory and cognitive capabilities: Mechanisms and performances, parts A and B (pp. 409–422). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craik, F. I. M., &Byrd, M. (1982). Aging and cognitive deficits: The role of attentional resources. In F. I. M. Craik & S. E. Trehub (Eds.),Aging and cognitive processes (pp. 191–211). New York: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Craik, F. I. M., Govoni, R., Naveh-Benjamin, M., &Anderson, N. (1996). The effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval processes in human memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,125, 159–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craik, F. I. M., &McDowd, J. M. (1987). Age differences in recognition and recall.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,13, 474–479.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunlosky, J., &Hertzog, C. (1998). Aging and deficits in associative memory: What is the role of strategy production?Psychology & Aging,13, 597–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eichenbaum, H. (2003). Memory systems. In I. B. Weiner (Ed.),Handbook of psychology (pp. 543–559). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eichenbaum, H., &Bunsey, M. (1995). On the binding of associations in memory: Clues from studies on the role of the hippocampal region in paired-associate learning.Current Directions in Psychological Science,4, 19–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eichenbaum, H., &Fortin, N. (2003). Episodic memory and the hippocampus: It’s about time.Current Directions in Psychological Science,12, 53–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes, M. A., &Moscovitch, M. (2003). Interference effects from divided attention during retrieval in younger and older adults.Psychology & Aging,18, 219–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glisky, E. (2001). Source memory, aging, and the frontal lobes. In M. Naveh-Benjamin, M. Moscovitch, & H. L. Roediger III (Eds.),Perspectives on human memory and cognitive aging: Essays in honour of Fergus Craik (pp.265–2755). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glisky, E. L., Rubin, S. R., &Davidson, P. S. R. (2001). Source memory in older adults: An encoding or retrieval problem?Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,27, 1131–1146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grady, C. L., McIntosh, A. R., Horwitz, B., Maisog, J. M., Ungerleider, L. G., Mentis, M. J., et al. (1995). Age-related reductions in human recognition memory due to impaired encoding.Science,269, 218–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Healy, M. R., Light, L. L., &Chung, C. (2005). Dual-process models of associative recognition in young and older adults: Evidence from receiver operating characteristics.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,31, 768–788.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henke, K., Buck, A., Weber, B., &Wieser, H. G. (1997). Human hippocampus establishes associations in memory.Hippocampus,7, 249–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard, M. W., Kahana, M. J., &Wingfield, A. (2006). Aging and contextual binding: Modeling recency and lag recency effects with the temporal context model.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,13, 439–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, J. M., &Jacoby, L. L. (1993). Automatic versus intentional uses of memory: Aging, attention, and control.Psychology & Aging,8, 283–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M. K. (1992). MEM: Mechanisms of recollection.Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience,4, 268–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahana, M. J., Howard, M. W., Zaromb, F., &Wingfield, A. (2002). Age dissociates recency and lag-recency effects in free recall.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,28, 530–540.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kausler, D. H., &Puckett, J. M. (1980). Adult age differences in recognition memory for a nonsemantic attribute.Experimental Aging Research,6, 349–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kroll, N. E. A., Knight, R., Metcalfe, J., Wolf, E. S., &Tulving, E. (1996). Cohesion failure as a source of memory illusions.Journal of Memory & Language,35, 176–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, S.-C., Naveh-Benjamin, M., &Lindenberger, U. (2005). Aging neuromodulation impairs associative binding.Psychological Science,16, 445–450.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Light, L. L., Patterson, M. M., Chung, C., &Healy, M. R. (2004). Effects of repetition and response deadline on associative recognition in young and older adults.Memory & Cognition,32, 1182–1193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macht, M. L., &Buschke, H. (1983). Age differences in cognitive effort in recall.Journal of Gerontology,38, 695–700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKay, D. G., &Burke, D. M. (1990). Cognition and aging: A theory of new learning and the use of old connections. In T. M. Hess (Ed.),Aging and cognition: Knowledge organization and utilization (pp. 213–263). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Macmillan, N. A., &Creelman, C. D. (1991).Detection theory: A user’s guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, K. J., Johnson, M. K., Raye, C. L., &D’Esposito, M. (2000). fMRI evidence of age-related hippocampal dysfunction in feature binding in working memory.Cognitive Brain Research,10, 197–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, K. J., Johnson, M. K., Raye, C. L., Mather, M., &D’Esposito, M. (2000). Aging and reflective processes of working memory: Binding and test load deficits.Psychology & Aging,15, 527–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moscovitch, M. (1994). Cognitive resources and dual-task interference effects at retrieval in normal people: The role of the frontal lobes and medial temporal cortex.Neuropsychology,8, 524–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moscovitch, M., &Winocur, G. (1992). The neuropsychology of memory and aging. In F. I. M. Craik & T. A. Salthouse (Eds.),The handbook of aging and cognition (pp. 315–372). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naveh-Benjamin, M. (2000). Adult age differences in memory performance: Tests of an associative deficit hypothesis.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,26, 1170–1187.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naveh-Benjamin, M., &Craik, F. I. M. (1998). Presenting and analyzing results in aging research: A methodological note.Experimental Aging Research,24, 83–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naveh-Benjamin, M., Craik, F. I. M., Guez, J., &Dori, H. (1998). Effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval processes in human memory: Further support for an asymmetry.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,24, 1091–1104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naveh-Benjamin, M., Craik, F. I. M., Guez, J., &Kreuger, S. (2005). Divided attention in younger and older adults: Effects of strategy and relatedness on memory performance and secondary task costs.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,31, 520–537.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naveh-Benjamin, M., Guez, J., Kilb, A., &Reedy, S. (2004). The associative memory deficit of older adults: Further support using face-name associations.Psychology & Aging,19, 541–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naveh-Benjamin, M., Guez, J., &Marom, M. (2003). The effects of divided attention at encoding on item and associative memory.Memory & Cognition,31, 1021–1035.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naveh-Benjamin, M., Guez, J., &Shulman, S. (2004). Older adults’ associative deficit in episodic memory: Assessing the role of decline in attentional resources.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,11, 1067–1073.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naveh-Benjamin, M., Hussain, Z., Guez, J., &Bar-On, M. (2003). Adult age differences in episodic memory: Further support for an associative-deficit hypothesis.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,29, 826–837.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naveh-Benjamin, M., Keshet Brav, T., &Levy, O. (2007). The associative memory deficit of older adults: The role of strategy utilization.Psychology & Aging,22, 202–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naveh-Benjamin, M., Kilb, A., &Fisher, T. (2006). Concurrent task effects on memory encoding and retrieval: Further support for an asymmetry.Memory & Cognition,34, 90–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabinowitz, J. C., Craik, F. I. M., &Ackerman, B. P. (1982). A processing resource account of age differences in recall.Canadian Journal of Psychology,36, 325–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raz, N., Gunning-Dixon, F. M., Head, D., Dupuis, J. H., &Acker, J. D. (1998). Neuroanatomical correlates of cognitive aging: Evidence from structural magnetic resonance imaging.Neuropsychology,12, 95–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinitz, M. T., Morrissey, J., &Demb, J. (1994). Role of attention in face encoding.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,20, 161–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, W. A., Hertzog, C., &Fisk, A. D. (2000). An individual differences analysis of ability and strategy influence: Age-related differences in associative learning.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,26, 359–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salthouse, T. A. (1991).Theoretical perspectives on cognitive aging. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salthouse, T. A. (1996). The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition.Psychological Review,103, 403–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, R. E., Murphy, M. D., Schmitt, F. A., &Walsh, K. K. (1980). Age differences in free recall rehearsal strategies.Journal of Gerontology,35, 550–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka, J. W., &Sengco, J. A. (1997). Features and their configuration in face recognition.Memory & Cognition,25, 583–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verhaeghen, P., &Marcoen, A. (1994). Production deficiency hypothesis revisited: Adult age differences in strategy use as a function of processing resources.Aging, Neuropsychology, & Cognition,1, 323–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallenstein, G. V., Eichenbaum, H., &Hasselmo, M. E. (1998). The hippocampus as an associator of discontiguous events.Trends in Neurosciences,21, 317–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zacks, R. T., &Hasher, L. (1994). Directed ignoring: Inhibitory regulation of working memory. In D. Dagenbach & T. H. Carr (Eds.),Inhibitory processes in attention, memory, and language (pp. 241–264). San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zacks, R. T., Hasher, L., &Li, K. Z. H. (2000). Human memory. In F. I. M. Craik & T. A. Salthouse (Eds.),The handbook of aging and cognition (2nd ed., pp. 293–357). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 106 McAlester Hall, 65211, Columbia, MO

    Angela Kilb & Moshe Naveh-Benjamin

Authors
  1. Angela Kilb
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Moshe Naveh-Benjamin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Moshe Naveh-Benjamin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kilb, A., Naveh-Benjamin, M. Paying attention to binding: Further studies assessing the role of reduced attentional resources in the associative deficit of older adults. Memory & Cognition 35, 1162–1174 (2007). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193486

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193486

Keywords

Search

Navigation