Working-Memory Capacity, Age, and Memory for Discourse

Two experiments explored the issue of whether age-related differences in memory for discourse can be explained by age-related differences in working memory capacity. Young and older adults were given a series of tasks designed to measure working memory capacity and memory for paragraphs. Although age-related differences were observed on digit, word, and sentence spans as well as on recall (Experiment 1) and recognition (Experiment 2), retention was not predicted well by scores on any of the span measures for either young or older adults in either experiment. The implications of these findings for hypotheses that age-related declines in working memory are responsible for problems in memory for prose are considered.