A test of the associative asymmetry hypothesis in the aged: the effect of attention, intelligence, and mediational strategies
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Abstract
Previous study has shown that elderly subjects may recall fewer stimuli than responses in paired-associate (PA) tasks. To determine if intentional deficits could account for this asymmetry, elderly and young subjects participated in a self-paced PA task where they were instructed to spell the stimulus or merely say the stimulus aloud during the study-test procedure. A post-PA, free-recall task found no recall stimulus-response asymmetry. Older subjects and nonspeller subjects recalled fewer total words. No age differences in meditational strategies occurred. Verbal mediation was the most frequently used strategy and resulted in greater total recall. Mediational strategies were associated with Quick Test I.Q. scores such that the imagery strategy was most frequently preferred by those of a low I.Q. and verbal mediation and rote learning were most frequently preferred by those of a medium I.Q.
Methodological differences between previous studies finding stimulus-response asymmetry and the present study are discussed.