Titration of storage task difficulty substantially reduces age differences in both single-task and dual-task memory accuracy¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · quant-synthesis r2 · q3 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i2 Age differences in single-task storage accuracy are smaller in titrated studies (g = 0.225) than non-titrated studies (g = 0.776), and the same holds for storage+processing tasks (0.249 vs 0.845). → Jaroslawska 2019 q3 i2 Titrating both tasks or the storage task only had similar effects on age differences in storage+processing performance. → Jaroslawska 2019 (2)

Evidence¶

Jaroslawska 2019¶

Jaroslawska, A. J., & Rhodes, S. (2019). Adult Age Differences in the Effects of Processing on Storage in Working Memory: A Meta-Analysis. Psychology & Aging. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000358

q3 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r2

Meta-regression of single-task age differences with titration as a moderator; including titration "accounted for significant variability in effect sizes, Q(1) = 7.538, p < 0.01". Hedges' g fell from 0.776 to 0.225, and the titrated effect size was not significantly different from zero.

"For studies that did not titrate the storage task effect size was 0.776 [0.522, 1.03], whereas for studies that did adjust the difficulty of storage activities this was 0.225 [-0.076, 0.526]."

Jaroslawska 2019 (2)¶

Jaroslawska, A. J., & Rhodes, S. (2019). Adult Age Differences in the Effects of Processing on Storage in Working Memory: A Meta-Analysis. Psychology & Aging. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000358

q3 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r?

Meta-regression comparing studies titrating both tasks (19 observations) versus storage only (18) against no titration; the moderator estimates on the Hedges' g scale (-0.638 and -0.551) were significant and of similar magnitude, indicating storage-task titration drives the reduction.

"Relative to not titrating at all, titrating both tasks (-0.638 [-1.082, -0.195] (z = -2.82,p < 0.01)) or the storage task only (-0.551 [-0.997, -0.104] (z = -2.414, p < 0.05)) had similar effects on age differences in storage+processing performance."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Age differences in memory accuracy are smaller for verbal than nonverbal storage tasks, and domain overlap between storage and processing tasks moderates dual-task age differences
• Titration of storage task difficulty reduces the age difference in dual task costs to a non-significant level — related
• Brinley analysis of accuracy reveals two distinct functions differing in intercept for storage-only versus storage-plus-processing tasks, corroborating a disproportionate processing cost — related
• In a combined meta-regression, titration but not domain overlap reduces age differences in dual-task performance, with no interaction between the two factors — related
• Older adults show a small but disproportionate age-related cost of concurrent processing on storage accuracy in working memory dual tasks — related