The association of elaborative or maintenance rehearsal with age, reading comprehension, and verbal working memory performance

Abstract

Elaborative or maintenance rehearsal strategy-use during a verbal working memory task was the grouping variable for a study that tested whether group membership distinguished 53 healthy adults by age, education, or performance on reading comprehension and verbal working memory tasks. No significant differences in age or reading comprehension emerged as a function of strategy-use. However, the elaborative strategy group had significantly better performance on one measure of verbal working memory. Several within age-group differences as a function of strategy-use were also significant. Younger adults who used elaborative rehearsal had superior working memory measures, and older adults who used elaborative rehearsal had superior reading comprehension measures, suggesting elaborative rehearsal's memory-enhancing function in verbal working memory and reading comprehension tasks.