Age-related differences in memory accuracy and memory monitoring: Relationship to executive processes

The current study examined the neuropsychological correlates of memory accuracy in older and younger adults. Participants were tested in a memory monitoring paradigm developed by Koriat and Goldsmith (1996), which permits separate assessments of the accuracy of responses generated during retrieval and the accuracy of monitoring those responses. Participants were also administered a battery of tests designed to measure executive functioning and speed of processing. Results indicated that both age and executive measures were predictive of accuracy, while speed of processing measures accounted for little of the variability in accuracy. In addition, executive measures explained a moderate amount of the variability in monitoring. Mediational analyses demonstrated that a large portion of the effect of executive function measures on accuracy was mediated by memory monitoring. These data suggest that individual differences in executive function are important in memory accuracy.