As we age, it is not our memory that fails us -- it is the limit in amount of space available for new information storage that fails us. Memory loss has multiple origins, and older age is not the only culprit. A study published the American Psychological Association's (APA) Journal Developmental Psychology demonstrates that age-related differences in memory are related to storage capacity, not just slow-downs in processing efficiency.

Psychologist H. Lee Swanson, Ph.D., examined the working memory of 778 individuals, ranging in age from six to 76. Working memory is the ability to activate new information while maintaining old information. Dr. Swanson tested each participant individually to compared age-related differences in two types of working memory. During each 40-minute exercise, participants were asked to recall a number embedded in a short sentence and organize words into abstract categories to test for verbal working memory. To test for visuospatial working memory, participates had to remember a sequence of directions and demonstrate their knowledge on an unmarked map.

Dr. Swanson found that younger adults are able to retain new information better than children and older adults. During childhood, working memory steadily increases. It peaks around age 45, then steadily declines. Obviously, more studies will follow. However, this is one of many areas of exploration of not only how memory fail us, but also, how memory can be improved.

As we get older, we run out of places to store new information, states Dr. Swanson. We have a limited amount of space in our memory system, but this is not related to our reading and math abilities.

Reference:

"What Develops in Working Memory? A Life Span Perspective," H. Lee Swanson, Ph.D., Riverside, Developmental Psychology, Vol. 34, No. 4.

Updated on 7/25/08
by Marlene M. Maheu, Ph.D.

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 159,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 50 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 58 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting human welfare.