Age Differences in False Recognition Using a Forced Choice Paradigm

Abstract

Recent findings suggest that older adults may be more susceptible to false recognition responses than younger adults because of age differences in gist-based processing at both encoding and retrieval. It has been suggested that age differences in the quality of memory representations that result from this age-related reliance on gist processing can produce age differences in response criteria, with older adults employing more lenient criteria than young adults. Support for this argument comes from studies where suppressed false recognition in older adults occurs with shifts toward more conservative response criteria. The current study further examined this issue by minimizing the effects of response criteria by using a two alternative forced-choice task in the study of false recognition in young and older adults. This manipulation reduced false recognition in both young and older adults, but did not eliminate age differences in false recognition.