The relative influence of intelligence and age on everyday memory.

A short memory test that provides analogs of everyday activities was used to investigate the relationship between everyday memory, cognitive abilities, participation in social, domestic, and leisure pursuits, and health status among 94 community-dwelling people aged between 70 and 93 years. Multiple regression analysis revealed that while fluid intelligence was a significant predictor of performance on most of the memory items, age was also a significant predictor of performance on prospective and verbal memory items, over and above the effects of intelligence. Crystallized intelligence and years of formal education showed little predictive power, but an index of participation in social and domestic activities was a good predictor of verbal, visual, and spatial memory items. It is concluded that cognitive decline in aging involves more than a simple decline in fluid intelligence.