Abstract
Twenty-four young (23 years) and 24 old (71 years) adults performed arithmetic tasks with working memory loads ranging from 1 to 4. Age groups were equivalent in mean accuracy and speed of arithmetic operations under minimal working memory load, but old adults were slower than young with memory demands >1. Access to a new object in working memory as the basis of computation required additional time. This object-switching cost increased with increases in memory demand, but was unaffected by age, indicating that old adults have no deficit in selective access to working memory.
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This research was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Grant KL 955/4).
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Oberauer, K., Wendland, M. & Kliegl, R. Age differences in working memory— The roles of storage and selective access. Memory & Cognition 31, 563–569 (2003). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196097
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196097