ERIC Number: EJ1050374
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Mar
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0012-1649
EISSN: N/A
Benefits of Training Visuospatial Working Memory in Young-Old and Old-Old
Borella, Erika; Carretti, Barbara; Cantarella, Alessandra; Riboldi, Francesco; Zavagnin, Michela; De Beni, Rossana
Developmental Psychology, v50 n3 p714-727 Mar 2014
The purpose of the present study was to test the efficacy of a visuospatial working memory (WM) training in terms of its transfer effects and maintenance effects, in the young-old and old-old. Forty young-old and 40 old-old adults took part in the study. Twenty participants in each age group received training with a visuospatial WM task, whereas the others served as active controls and completed alternative activities. Training benefits were examined, considering (a) the specific training-related gains in a visuospatial WM task (criterion); and (b) the transfer effects on measures of verbal WM, visuospatial short-term memory, inhibition, processing speed, and reasoning. Maintenance of training benefits was also assessed after 8 months. Results showed that the trained groups (both young-old and old-old), but not the control groups, performed better in the WM measures and preserved these gains after 8 months. Some transfer effects were found, but only in the young-old-trained participants, and they were not maintained at the follow-up. These results are discussed in terms of the efficacy of WM training for older adults when a visuospatial modality is used.
Descriptors: Visual Perception, Spatial Ability, Short Term Memory, Transfer of Training, Young Adults, Older Adults, Task Analysis, Verbal Communication, Educational Benefits, Training, Cognitive Processes, Thinking Skills, Maintenance, Control Groups, Foreign Countries, Classification, Word Frequency, Statistical Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Italy
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Digit Span Test; Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test; Stroop Color Word Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A