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Scientists Say They Know Why Older Adults Have
Trouble Learning New Tricks
Nov. 16, 2004 - Aging can erode aspects of memory
that require control while leaving more automatic, learned behavior
preserved. The new research suggests that new learning requires control,
whereas past habits are relatively automatic. This may help explain why
it can be so hard for older adults to "learn new tricks" and maintain
them over time.
The study suggests that over time, our bad habits
(such as smoking cigarettes or over eating) become automatic, learned
behaviors. Even if we consciously try to put new good intentions into
place, those previously learned habits remain stronger in more
automatic, unconscious forms of memory.
This research may help explain why when we're under
stress we fall back into old habits, such as cheating on a new diet
after a bad day at work. Stress can weaken our control over memory and
behavior, so that those automatic, habitual responses from the past
become more influential. With control weakened, those automatic
responses - such as eating a cookie or smoking a cigarette - can
override our new good intentions.
The findings are presented in an article, "Which
Route to Recovery? Controlled Retrieval and Accessibility Bias in
Retroactive Interference," which will appear in the November issue of
Psychological Science, a journal of the American Psychological Society.
The research was conducted by psychologists Cindy Lustig, University of
Michigan, Alex Konkel, University of Illinois, and Larry L. Jacoby,
Washington University.
Participants in the study first learned one way of
responding to a cue word (e.g., "Say 'cup' when you see 'coffee' "), and
then later learned another way (e.g., "Now say 'mug' when you see
'coffee' "). They were given memory tests both immediately after
learning the words, and the day after. Some people were told to control
their memory and give only the first response ('cup'). Others were told
to just give whichever response came automatically to mind.
Those controlling their responses did a good job of
giving only the first response on both days. The interesting results
were for the people who responded automatically, giving whichever
response came to mind. On the first day, their answers were split evenly
between the two possibilities. However, on the second day, they gave the
first response ('cup') much more often than the second response ('mug').
The second response seemed to fade from memory, while the first response
grew even stronger than it had been on the first day.
In their study, the researchers sought to take a
new look at why old habits seem to prevail over our attempts to change
our behavior. Their findings suggest that even though the strength of an
old habit may fade over time, our memory for it will be stronger then
any new good intentions that succeed it.
Psychological Science is ranked among the
top 10 general psychology journals for impact by the Institute for
Scientific Information. The American Psychological Society represents
psychologists advocating science-based research in the public's
interest.
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