Age differences in the consistency of adults' associative responses.

Younger (mean age = 20) and older (mean age = 63) adults were asked to produce free associations to the same list of 24 verbal stimuli on each of four trials. Older adults tended to produce less common associations and their associations were less consistent across trials. Possible relationships between older adults' inconsistency in processing and their (a) poorer memory performance and (b) slower reaction times were discussed.