Age-related differences in spatial memory: Effects of structural and organizational context

Citation
Ke. Cherry et Mw. Jones, Age-related differences in spatial memory: Effects of structural and organizational context, J GEN PSYCH, 126(1), 1999, pp. 53-73
Citations number
19
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Article
Categorie Soggetti
Psycology
Journal title
JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
ISSN journal
0022-1309 → ACNP
Volume
126
Issue
1
Year of publication
1999
Pages
53 - 73
Database
ISI
SICI code
0022-1309(199901)126:1<53:ADISME>2.0.ZU;2-8
Abstract
The authors examined effects of structural and organizational spatial conte xt on younger and older adults' memory for an arrangement of dollhouse furn iture pieces. For half of the participants, landmark objects (Experiment 1) and a floor plan beneath the array (Experiment 2) served as structural con text during study and replacement. Organizational context was varied by gro uping items randomly or as 6 rooms in a prototypical house. Two study and r eplacement trials were given. In Experiment 1, landmark structural, cues im proved younger adults' performance, whereas both age groups benefited from the floor plan in Experiment 2. In both experiments, positive effects of or ganizational context and trial occurred. Higher order interactions further revealed that structural and organizational context effects varied in size across trials, suggesting that both age groups used spatial contextual cues more effectively with practice. Implications of these results for current views on cognitive compensation in adulthood are discussed.