Face Naming and Retrieval Inhibition in Old and Very Old Age

Abstract

Background/Study Context: Aging has traditionally been related to impairments in proper name retrieval. This study analyzed the possible role of the Inhibitory Deficit Hypothesis in explaining face naming impairments during aging. The dynamics of inhibition have been thoroughly studied by the retrieval-practice paradigm (Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20, 1063–1087) and its aftereffect, the retrieval-induced forgetting effect.

Methods: A version of the retrieval-practice paradigm was employed: younger-old (YO; mean age = 66.40, SD = 3.94) and older-old (OO; mean age = 80.94, SD = 4.53) adults were asked to repeatedly name faces of categorically related famous people.

Results: Retrieval-induced forgetting for names was observed in the YO group but not in the OO group.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that whereas the YO adults had enough resources to inhibit intrusive names, OO adults were not able to suppress competing names, supporting the proposal of the Inhibitory Deficit Hypothesis at older ages.

Notes

¹ Previous studies showed that RIF is interference dependent, that is, this effect arises when the Rp− is an effective competitor, but is not related to retrieval practice success (strength independent; for a review, see Anderson, 2003).

² Since YO participants had a higher level of education than OO, a 2 (group: YO vs. OO) × 2 (item type: Rp− vs. Nrp) analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) that included education (years of education) as a covariate was performed. The results resemble previous data, and the interaction Group × Item Type remained significant (F(1, 36) = 5.638, p = .02, η_p² = .14).

³ Although the task was mainly designed to test older adults recall by introducing longer than usual times to respond, a group of 22 young adults (mean age = 20.95, SD = 3.93) also participated in this experiment. As expected, a ceiling effect emerged during the final test. As mentioned, this ceiling effect was probably caused by the long response interval during the face naming test. Therefore, for this young adult group, we analyzed only the responses that were faster than a cutoff of 2 standard deviations above the mean (Nrp−: M = 1118 ms, SD = 437 ms; Rp−: M = 1201 ms, SD = 556 ms). A 3 (group: young adults, younger-old adults, older-old adults) × 2 (item type: Rp−, Nrp−) ANOVA revealed a trend toward significance of the Group × Item Type interaction (F(2, 58) = 2.755, p = .07, η_p² = .09). Post hoc analysis showed retrieval-induced forgetting for young adults (Nrp−: M = .81, SD = .16; Rp−: M = .70, SD = .25; p = .04) and younger-old (p = .02) adults but not for older old adults (p = .41).