Description
Age-related deficits in episodic memory have been documented using well-validated list learning tests such as the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II). The present study examined age-related differences on a novel episodic-like memory test assessing memory for "who, when, and where" in addition to associations among these elements. Young (ages 18-25) and older adults (ages 65+) were administered the CVLT-II and a novel episodic-like memory test. Our test consisted of two trials during which the participant was asked to remember a sequence of pictures of different faces paired with different places. The participant then was asked to pair each face with the correct place and put the face-place pairs in the correct sequence. Our test correlated significantly (p < .05) with the CVLT-II, providing preliminary evidence for validity. Older adults remembered significantly fewer face-place pairs and correct pairs in sequence compared to young adults on both trials (ps < .05). Although older adults committed more face and place intrusion errors on the first trial (ps < .05), there were no significant group differences on the second trial. Using a single test, we demonstrated that older adults are impaired in remembering associations between faces and places, as well as the temporal sequence in which face-place pairs were presented; both are critical for everyday episodic memory. Given that intrusion errors for the individual faces/places did not differ on the second trial, these age-related associative memory differences are not due solely to impaired memory for the individual items in the associations.
