Intraindividual change in text recall of the elderly.

Patterns of change and variability in text recall performance were assessed in seven elderly women by testing them weekly for up to 2 years. Results showed markedly different patterns of intraindividual change in gist recall performance for different participants. The two women whose performance declined were characterized by deteriorating physical health. Texts having female protagonists yielded superior recall performance. There was significant intraindividual variability after adjustment for text effects, which may indicate that weekly fluctuations in psychological states of the participants influenced their memory performance.