The effects of presentation rate and encoding task on age-related memory deficits.

Young and old adults studied several lists of words at each of three presentation durations (1.5, 3, and 6 s/word). Under standard, intentional learning instructions the magnitude of the age-related recall deficit increased with longer presentation durations. When a semantic orienting question was used to guide the encoding of the items on each list, however, an equivalent benefit of longer study times was observed for the two age groups. In delayed recognition testing, the age groups also showed equivalent benefits from longer study times. These results were interpreted within the context of a processing deficit framework of age differences in memory, in which age differences are due to differences in the spontaneous use of organizational strategies. The results are not well described by a cognitive slowing account of age differences in memory.