Aging and verbal memory span: a meta-analysis.

Using Brinley plots, this meta-analysis provides a quantitative examination of age differences in eight verbal span tasks. The main conclusions are these: (a) there are age differences in all verbal span tasks; (b) the data support the conclusion that working memory span is more age sensitive than short-term memory span; and (c) there is a linear relationship between span of younger adults and span of older adults. A linear model indicates the presence of three distinct functions, in increasing order of size of age effects: simple storage span; backward digit span; and working memory span.