Older Adults Share Fewer Memories as They Age

This study really gives us one of the first glimpses of people sharing these memories in their day-to-day life, " said senior study authorMatthew Grilli, an assistant professor in the UArizonaDepartment of Psychology.Over the course of four days, the daily conversations of 102 cognitively healthy older adults, ages 65 to 90, were monitored with the EAR, or electronically activated recorder – a smartphone app that lets researchers record random samples of study participants ' conversations.Participants kept their phones on them for the duration of the study, and the EAR captured 30-second snippets every six to 18 minutes each day. The participants didn ' t know at which points the recordings started or ended.The researchers then analyzed the audio and tallied the number of times participants shared autobiographical memories – or memories about their past experiences. " We found that the older individuals in our study shared fewer memories, " said lead study authorAubrey W., a UArizona graduate student in psychology. " Additionally, we found that the level of detail also decreased with older age as people were describing these memories. "It ' s important for people to recall and share memories, Grilli said. Doing so can help them connect with others. It can also guide planning and decision-making and help people find meaning in other life events and circumstances.The reason memory sharing declines with age is not entirely clear, but it may be linked to age-related changes ...
Source: The University of Arizona: Health - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Source Type: research