Memory control beliefs and everyday forgetfulness in adulthood: the effects of selection, optimization, and compensation strategies

Same Goals, but Different Outcomes: Present-Focused versus Future-Focused Memory Beliefs Differentially Predict Young and Older Adults' Everyday Use of Memory Strategies

OBJECTIVE

We investigated whether beliefs about the current versus future effectiveness of memory strategies predict young and older adults' everyday strategy use.

METHOD

103 young and 91 older adults reported their memory goals, beliefs about the current and future effectiveness of various strategies, and frequency of use of each strategy type.

RESULTS

The two age groups equally valued current and future memory. Young adults' strategy selection related only to their beliefs about the strategies' current effectiveness; older adults utilized approaches they perceived as effective for improving both future and current memory.

IMPLICATIONS

Findings highlight the importance of the temporal nature of memory strategy beliefs.

Cognitive control beliefs and cognitive functioning in mid- to late-life

OBJECTIVES

Older adults experience age-related cognitive declines and often feel as if the severity of these declines is out of their control. Recent research suggests, though, that control beliefs may be related to less age-related declines. The aim of the current study was to investigate cognitive domain-specific control beliefs and the link between those cognitive control beliefs and cognitive functioning among a nationwide sample of adults (N = 3,670), as well as to explore whether cognitive control beliefs moderated the relationship between age and cognitive functioning.

METHOD

The aims were addressed using data from the national Midlife in the United States study (MIDUS II). Cognitive functioning was assessed using the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT), and cognitive control beliefs were assessed with the Personality in Intellectual Aging Contexts (PIC) Inventory Control Scales.

RESULTS

Regression analyses revealed that adults with higher control beliefs demonstrated better cognitive functioning. Moderation analyses indicated cognitive control beliefs moderated the relationship between age and executive functioning, but not the association between age and episodic memory.

CONCLUSION

Results suggested that the relationship between age and executive functioning was weaker at high levels of cognitive control beliefs. Future research should establish the directionality of the effect between cognitive control beliefs and cognition and investigate the association between control beliefs and cognition in samples at higher risk for substantial cognitive decline, including the oldest-old.

Memory Self-Efficacy and Beliefs about Memory and Aging in Oldest-Old Adults in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS)

Background/Study Context. Adaptation to normative age-related declines in memory is an important but understudied aspect of successful aging. The purpose of the present study was to shed new light on memory self-efficacy and beliefs about memory and aging as two integral aspects of adult cognition with relevance to successful aging.

METHODS

Young (19 to 27 years) and community-dwelling older adults (60 to 94 years) from the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS) completed an adapted Memory Functioning Questionnaire (MFQ) which includes a memory self-efficacy subscale, the Memory Controllability Inventory (MCI), and the Aging Concerns Scale (ACS).

RESULTS

Nonagenarians' self-reported memory and beliefs about memory and aging were of central interest. We compared their responses to three younger reference groups to examine hypothesized differences in self-reported memory and beliefs about memory and aging in very late life. Results yielded age effects for most of the MFQ and MCI subscales demonstrating more positive subjective views about memory functioning and control over memory for the young adults. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to isolate factors that may be associated with memory self-efficacy. Age, symptoms of depression, and memory control beliefs accounted for approximately half of the variance in memory self-efficacy ratings.

CONCLUSION

These data indicate that although memory self-efficacy may be age sensitive, we detected no differences in subjective views across the three older groups. Implications for cognitive adaptability and successful aging are considered.

Understanding women's experience of memory over the menopausal transition: subjective and objective memory in pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal women

OBJECTIVE

Many women complain of forgetfulness during the menopausal transition. This study aimed to examine women's subjective perception of memory and their objective memory performance across the menopausal transition.

METHODS

One hundred thirty women, aged 40 to 60 years were recruited from outpatient Menopause and Gynaecological clinics at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne. Women were divided into menopausal stage groups according to the Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop criteria based on menstrual patterns. All women completed self-report measures of depressive, anxiety, vasomotor, and sleep symptoms; attitude to menopause; and various aspects of memory, including memory contentment, frequency of forgetting, sense of control over memory, and use of memory strategies. Women also completed a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation assessing memory and executive function.

RESULTS

Comprehensive neuropsychological assessment showed no difference between premenopausal (n = 36), perimenopausal (n = 54), and postmenopausal (n = 40) groups in performance on memory and executive tasks. Perimenopausal women, however, reported significantly more frequent forgetting (η = 0.09, P < 0.01) and less contentment with their memory (η = 0.08, P < 0.01) than pre- and postmenopausal women.

CONCLUSIONS

Although no impairment was observed in neuropsychological performance, when compared with pre- and postmenopausal women, perimenopausal women were more likely to be dissatisfied with their memory. During the menopausal transition women with a more negative attitude to menopause and more intense depressive, anxiety, vasomotor, and sleep symptoms are more vulnerable to feeling less content with their memory.

Self-Regulatory Strategies in Daily Life: Selection, Optimization, and Compensation and Everyday Memory Problems

The effective use of self-regulatory strategies, such as selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) requires resources. However, it is theorized that SOC use is most advantageous for those experiencing losses and diminishing resources. The present study explored this seeming paradox within the context of limitations or constraints due to aging, low cognitive resources, and daily stress in relation to everyday memory problems. We examined whether SOC usage varied by age and level of constraints, and if the relationship between resources and memory problems was mitigated by SOC usage. A daily diary paradigm was used to explore day-to-day fluctuations in these relationships. Participants (n=145, ages 22 to 94) completed a baseline interview and a daily diary for seven consecutive days. Multilevel models examined between- and within-person relationships between daily SOC use, daily stressors, cognitive resources, and everyday memory problems. Middle-aged adults had the highest SOC usage, although older adults also showed high SOC use if they had high cognitive resources. More SOC strategies were used on high stress compared to low stress days. Moreover, the relationship between daily stress and memory problems was buffered by daily SOC use, such that on high-stress days, those who used more SOC strategies reported fewer memory problems than participants who used fewer SOC strategies. The paradox of resources and SOC use can be qualified by the type of resource-limitation. Deficits in global resources were not tied to SOC usage or benefits. Conversely, under daily constraints tied to stress, the use of SOC increased and led to fewer memory problems.

Everyday experiences of memory problems and control: the adaptive role of selective optimization with compensation in the context of memory decline

The present study examined the role of long-term working memory decline in the relationship between everyday experiences of memory problems and perceived control, and we also considered whether the use of accommodative strategies [selective optimization with compensation (SOC)] would be adaptive. The study included Boston-area participants (n = 103) from the Midlife in the United States study (MIDUS) who completed two working memory assessments over 10 years and weekly diaries following Time 2. In adjusted multi-level analyses, greater memory decline and lower general perceived control were associated with more everyday memory problems. Low perceived control reported in a weekly diary was associated with more everyday memory problems among those with greater memory decline and low SOC strategy use (Est. = -0.28, SE= 0.13, p = .036). These results suggest that the use of SOC strategies in the context of declining memory may help to buffer the negative effects of low perceived control on everyday memory.