The Role of Shifting, Updating, and Inhibition in Prospective Memory Performance in Young and Older Adults

Prospective memory performance shows a decline in late adulthood. The present article examines the role of 3 main executive function facets (i.e., shifting, updating, and inhibition) as possible developmental mechanisms associated with these age effects. One hundred seventy-five young and 110 older...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental psychology 2013-08, Vol.49 (8), p.1544-1553
Main Authors: Schnitzspahn, Katharina M, Stahl, Christoph, Zeintl, Melanie, Kaller, Christoph P, Kliegel, Matthias
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adult. Elderly
Adulthood
Adults
Age Differences
Aged
Aging
Aging - physiology
Aging - psychology
Attention - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Child psychology
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive Tests
Developmental psychology
Executive Function
Executive Function - physiology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Inhibition
Inhibition (Psychology)
Male
Memorization
Memory
Memory - physiology
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
Older Adults
Older people
Predictor Variables
Prospective Memory
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reaction Time
Regression (Statistics)
Regression Analysis
Short Term Memory
Structural Equation Models
Updating
Working memory
Young Adult
Young Adults
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Summary:Prospective memory performance shows a decline in late adulthood. The present article examines the role of 3 main executive function facets (i.e., shifting, updating, and inhibition) as possible developmental mechanisms associated with these age effects. One hundred seventy-five young and 110 older adults performed a battery of cognitive tests including measures of prospective memory, shifting, updating, inhibition, working memory, and speed. Age effects were confirmed in prospective memory and also obtained in shifting, updating, and inhibition. Yet, facets of executive control differently predicted prospective memory performance: While inhibition and shifting were strong predictors of prospective memory performance and also explained age differences in prospective memory, updating was not related to prospective memory performance across adulthood. Furthermore, considering executive function measures increased the amount of explained variance in prospective remembering and reduced the influence of speed. Working memory was not revealed to serve as a significant predictor of prospective memory performance in the present study. These findings clarify the role of different facets of controlled attention on age effects in prospective memory and bear important conceptual implications: Results suggest that some but not all facets of executive functioning are important developmental mechanisms of prospective memory across adulthood beyond working memory and speed. Specifically, inhibition and shifting appear to be essential aspects of cognitive control involved in age-related prospective memory performance.
ISSN:0012-1649
1939-0599
DOI:10.1037/a0030579