Age does not modify the processing architecture of dual memory retrieval: an investigation of age-related effects on dual-retrieval practice in younger and older adults

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study investigated the cognitive processing architecture of dual(-memory) retrieval from a single cue across two distinct age groups: younger and older adults. Previous research has shown that younger adults can exhibit learned parallel retrieval, but only if they synchronize response execution. This phenomenon has not been demonstrated with older adults. Experiment 1 functioned as an extension of previous studies to assess whether the finding of learned retrieval parallelism in younger adults could be observed in older adults as well. The experiment used a dual retrieval task that involved the retrieval of two responses, one vocal and one keypress, from a single cue. Experiment 2 further assessed whether the cognitive processing architecture underlying the occurrence of learned retrieval parallelism in dual memory retrieval could be influenced by the number of cues in single-retrieval practice. The results of both experiments showed that learned retrieval parallelism occurs in older as well as younger adults and that the processing mechanisms involved in dual memory retrieval are relatively stable across age groups.