Memory for Items and Their Spatial Locations by Young and Elderly Adults

This study examines age differences in the relationship between memory for items and memory for the spatial location of items. Young (Mage = 17 years) and elderly (M age = 68 years) adults studied a spatial display that included 16 items in specific locations. The items were either small objects or the one-word verbal label for each. Two tests followed to independently assess free recall of the items and the accuracy of spatial relocation. The young adults were more accurate on both tests. This finding was consistent for both verbal and visual items. The age differences in memory are explained in terms of age differences in encoding and rehearsal strategies. This study resolves, in part, the conflicting results regarding age differences in spatial memory accuracy reported by Perlmutter, Metzger, Nezworski, and Miller (1981) and by McCormack (1982).