presentation missouri
DESCRIPTION
Presentation for Missouri Conference (Adult Education Research Conference) May 2013TRANSCRIPT
The Effects of Presentation and Processing on Explicit Memory in Older AdultsFelicia Oropeza M. A.
California State University, Sacramento
“It is a mistake to regard age as a downhill grade toward dissolution. The reverse is true. As one grows older, one climbs with surprising strides.” George Sand (1804 - 1876)
Overview
• Memory Tasks and Processes• Research on Cognitive Aging• Operational Definitions• Hypotheses• Methods• Results• Limitations• Discussion • Future Directions
Memory Tasks and Processes
• Memory Tasks• Explicit• Implicit
• Memory Processes• Supraliminal• Subliminal
Which tasks use more conscious thought?
Implicit Memory
Explicit Memory
Free Recall
Direct Recollection
Conscious Awareness
Priming
No Conscious Recollection
Research on Cognitive Aging
•Mild dementia => Short term memory lapses
•Moderate and severe cases => Long term memory lapses
Is it Truly Memory Loss?
• Reasons for Inability to remember • High Glucose intake• Lower oxygen and respiratory capacity• Heightened Anxiety
• Limited social circles• Discrimination• Limited mobility • Declines in physical and mental health
Age Effects on Memory
• Worst fear of the aging population• More than 20% of seniors 85+ suffer from dementia
• Urgent call for intervention to slow or reverse early stages of dementia‒ Cognition‒ Behavioral Science‒ Educational Technology
Age Effects on Memory (cont’d)• Age effects on memory tests
• Explicit • Not on implicit tests
• Category exemplar tests are the exception! • Differential age effects on memory tasks blur
Relationship between levels of processing, associative neural networks and compensatory strategies• Classical study of levels of processing (Craik
and Lockhart)• Connection between thematic relatedness
and associative neural networks activated by deep levels of processing
• Compensatory strategy seen more commonly in older adult memory test performance
The Aging Brain
Compensatory Neural Networks
Levels of Processing
Presentation of Visual Stimuli
Why is thematic relatedness a more appropriate variable for studying levels of processing in aging populations?
• Significant age differences in effortful processing tasks when presented with atypical and related stimuli
• Captures effects of:• Meaning based processes• Depth of encoding• Strengthened neural networks• Parallel and distributed memory processes
Independent VariablesOrder of
Presentation
Video Code 1
Video Code 2
Video Code 3
Video Code 4
Relatedness
Thematic
Non-thematic
Presentation
Supraliminal
Subliminal
RelatednessT
hem
atic
: Z
oo A
nim
als
• 1 Phase per video
• A total of two randomly sorted lists of 10 words each
The
mat
ic :
Veg
etab
les
• 1 Phase per video
• A total of two randomly sorted lists of 10 words each
Non
-The
mat
ic
• 2 Phases per Video: 1 Supraliminal and 1 Subliminal
• The phases contain a randomly sorted list of 10 words each
Presentation
Supraliminal10 words presented for 2 seconds at a time per
phase
Two phases of supraliminal conditions per video
20 supraliminal words used in sum
Subliminal10 words presented for .04 seconds at a time per
phase
Two phases of subliminal conditions per video
20 subliminal words used in sum
Presentation
Dependent Variables
Hits• The number of correctly
remembered words
False Alarms
• The number of words written on the exam that were not presented during the testing phase
Hypotheses: Main Effects
Presentation
Supraliminal
Subliminal
Relatedness
Thematic
Non-Thematic
Hypotheses: Interactions
Supraliminal Thematic
Supraliminal Non Thematic
Will the compound effect of thematic relatedness and supraliminal presentation of stimuli yield
higher explicit memory test performance results in older adults?
Methods• Received approval from the CSUS IRB with
minimal risk• Random assignment of 48 older adults to one of
four video conditions• Four phases
• supraliminal-thematic• supraliminal-nonthematic• subliminal-thematic• subliminal-nonthematic.
• Used a partial counterbalancing Latin Square procedure
Results• Hits
(Modified by Interaction)
• False Alarms
Presentation
• Hits only (Modified by Interaction)
Relatedness
Order of Presentation
No Main Effect or Interaction!
Main Effects Modified by One-Way Interaction
Supraliminal Thematic
Supraliminal Non-Thematic
Findings• Higher recall for words presented for 2
seconds than for words presented for .04 seconds
• Higher recall for words in thematic than in non-thematic conditions
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.504.10
1.15
0.150.00
Supraliminal
Subliminal
Nu
mb
er
of
Co
rre
ctl
y
Gu
es
se
d W
ord
s (
Hit
s)
Significant Interaction of Presentation by Relatedness for
Hits
Discussion
• Combined effect of supraliminal presentation and thematic relatedness => role of deeply processed content
• Younger adults may not use categories to the same degree as older adults to assist in memory test performance
• The contribution of associations between related words to the engagement of conscious processes during completion of memory tasks
Limitations of study
Limited Power
Sampling Method
Type II Error
Small Sample
Size
Limitations of study (cont’d)
Screening tool for
cognitive functioning
• Comparing anomalies to normative performance
Future Directions
• Development of web-based media and curricula specifically geared for the aging population
• Design of senior centers using assistive devices that present engaging reading material for longer periods of time facilitating better reading comprehension
• Leads the way for more work in applied behavior labs specializing in disability research
• May pave the way for interventions that could slow the effects of mild cognitive impairment or even reverse the onset of dementia in genetically predisposed populations
Conclusion• Positive outlook for aging population with
modern cognitive aging research• The enhanced neural network mirrors the
complex interplay of meaning and consciousness as it forever shapes our human experience and survival.
Thank you!
• Special thanks to the Psychology Department at California State University, Sacramento• Thesis Chair: Dr. Kelly Cotter, Ph.D.• Thesis Advisor: Dr. Emily Wickelgren, Ph.D.• Thesis Advisor: Dr. John Schaeuble, Ph.D.
• Many thanks to the Adult Education Research Conference at the University of Missouri at St. Louis for allowing me to present.
• My contact info is: [email protected]