Self-generation amplifies the errorless learning effect in healthy older adults when transfer appropriate processing conditions are met

ABSTRACT

Errorless learning improves memory for older adults by providing individuals with correct information from the onset, thereby minimizing the misleading influence of errors. Our previous research demonstrated that self-generation enhanced the errorless learning effect among older adults in cued recall when encoding encouraged processing of cue–target relationships, suggesting that transfer appropriate processing is necessary for this interactive effect (Lubinsky, Rich, & Anderson, 2009, Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 15, 704). The current study further tests this notion by investigating whether the interaction of errorless learning and self-generated learning is observed in free recall when study conditions foster encoding of inter-item associations. Healthy older adult participants studied related or unrelated words (manipulated between-subjects) under four within-subjects learning conditions representing the crossing of errorless/errorful learning and self-generated/experimenter-provided information. As predicted, self-generation enhanced the errorless learning advantage in free recall for related word lists but not unrelated word lists. The results are discussed in relation to the transfer appropriate processing view of generation effects.

Keywords:

• Aging
• Memory
• Cognition
• Learning
• Free recall

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by an NSERC grant (238861) to N. D. Anderson. E. B. Guild was supported by the Max and Ruth Wiseman Graduate Student Fellowship and the Finkler Graduate Student Fellowship. We thank Sara Waters-Schulte and Carly Goodman for assistance in data collection.

Notes

¹Cues from the Nelson et al. (2004) database were not usable for 64 of the 320 words and were instead generated by the authors. Cues were unusable either because they were not specific enough or, more often, because the listed cues were used as other target words. In some cases, targets did not have any associated cues listed in the database.