Memory Self-Efficacy, Aging, and Memory Performance: The Roles of Effort and Persistence

Abstract

The relative importance of mental effort, as indicated by strategy use, and persistence as potential mediators of the memory self-efficacy (MSE)/memory performance relationship was investigated within a sample of 26 adults aged 65 years and older. It was found that persistence but not strategy use was predictive of performance on a free-recall task. Age-related declines were found in persistence, performance, and MSE but not in strategy use. Counter to expectation, neither strategy use nor persistence was significantly related to a global measure of MSE. These results highlight the importance in MSE research of distinguishing mental effort and persistence, of task-specific measures of MSE, and of considering age-related changes within the elderly population. Implications for MSE intervention programs are briefly discussed.

Notes

Note. Age = chronological age. MSE = scores on MIA Capacity scale. Persistence = time spent in seconds on recall task. Strategy Use = scores on MIA Strategy Use scale. Categorization = Degree of categorization during free recall. Recall = number of words recalled out of 30. Education = years of education. Health = perceived health on scale of 1 (poor health) to 5 (excellent health).

∗ p < .05. ∗∗p < .01.