Age-related similarities and differences in the components of semantic fluency: analyzing the originality and organization of retrieval from long-term memory

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study investigated age-related differences in retrieval from long-term memory using a semantic fluency task in which participants recalled animals during a 5-minute retrieval period. We evaluated the relative uniqueness of items and their output position within the retrieval process to further elucidate how younger and older adults access and retrieve semantic knowledge in long-term memory. Although older (n = 96, aged 56-79, M = 62.44) and younger adults (n = 98, aged 18-27, M = 23.44) scored similarly for retrieval fluency and originality, these abilities tended to decline when we analyzed age as a continuous variable, indicating some preservation in earlier adulthood, but impairment in older age. Additionally, participants tended to recall common, more easily accessible items before unique, less accessible items, and this pattern was more prominent in older adults. Thus, there are both similarities and differences in semantic fluency in older age.