Roger A. Dixon

Memory Self-Knowledge and Self-Efficacy in the Aged

While following trends in cognitive psychology, gerontologists have become increasingly interested in the ways social and personality processes may contribute to cognitive functioning. In the domain of memory, this interest has led to suggestions that age-related changes in basic memory processes may be only one contributing factor in the typically observed decline in performance in later life. In particular, individuals’ performance may be shaped not only by their actual skills, but also by their knowledge of the cognitive demand characteristics of the situation and their perceptions of the likely outcomes of their behaviors in such a situation. Such self-knowledge and self-perceptions have been labeled metamemory. As originally proposed by Flavell and his colleagues (Flavell, 1971; Flavell & Wellman, 1977), emphasis was placed on knowledge about memory. In particular, they suggested that memory performance may be affected by (a) knowledge of the memory demand characteristics of particular tasks or situations, and (b) knowledge of potentially employable strategies relevant to a given task or situation. More recently, the concept has been expanded to include the individual’s sense of self-efficacy with respect to memory, either generally or in relation to a given task or situation. Several writers have suggested that perceived self-efficacy may be a particularly important determinant of memory-related behavior in older adults (Hultsch, Dixon, & Hertzog, 1985; Lachman, Steinberg, & Trotter, 1987; West & Berry, 1987).

The role of pre-experimental knowledge in text processing in adulthood

The present investigation was designed to examine the effects of pre-experimental knowledge on the text recall of younger (mean = 23.1 years), middle aged (mean = 44.2 years), and older (mean = 66.8 years) adults. The subjects were presented with biographical sketches of famous entertainment figures selected such that normatively differential levels of pre-experimental knowledge about the figures was possessed by the various age groups. Subjects recalled the texts immediately after input and again after a delay of one week. Analyses indicated that, at the immediate test, younger subjects remembered the texts better than the middle-aged and older subjects. However, at the delayed test, the performance of the younger subjects did not differ significantly from either older group. In addition, age interacted with story type. The pattern of results suggested that age differences in text processing may be present or absent depending on the level of pre-experimental knowledge about the to-be-remembered topic possessed by the various age groups.

Adolescent abuse and the development of personal sense of control

The link between adolescent abuse, the adolescents psychological functioning, and locus of control orientation is explored. Maltreated adolescents experience such problems as low self-esteem, antisocial behavior, and suicidal tendencies. It is argued that the adolescents locus of control orientation, deriving from his/her experiences in the home, may determine the extent to which the adolescent exhibits problematic behavior and personal maladjustment. Although locus of control in abused adolescents has not been investigated, studies show that individuals who experience the same types of problems evidenced by abused adolescents are more likely to have perceptions of external control. The nature of the relationship between locus of control and abuse may depend upon the duration of the abuse (i.e., long- versus short-term abuse). For example, adolescents who have experienced abusive behavior throughout childhood are expected to be more externally oriented than those adolescents who have been abused for a shorter time. Thus, long-term abused adolescents will be more likely to have perceptions of external control than nonabused adolescents, with short-term abused adolescents falling in the middle. The distinction between short- and long-term abuse in the context of locus of control may be important to consider when designing treatment programs for abused adolescents.

Toward understanding and caring for latchkey children

Several recent articles published in the popular press have presented contrasting accounts of the emerging social phenomenon of latchkey children. In this paper, we examine available empirical evidence in light of a contextual model of human development and, on this basis, offer preliminary suggestions for the care of latchkey children.

Depth of Processing and Text Recall in Adulthood

The depth of processing model suggests that incidental learning occurs at various “depths” corresponding to the degree of semantic analysis. Because deep processing is associated with improved recall, and because older adults generally perform at a lower level than younger adults, this model has been applied to aging research. The present study examined the validity of this model by comparing a sample of three German adult age groups with a similar sample in an earlier American study. Specifically, subjects read a 500-word narrative under one of four conditions: (a) a shallow, nonsemantic orienting task; (b) and (c) two deep, semantic orienting tasks; or (d) an intentional condition. Results indicated that, overall, younger adults performed better than older adults, that recall in the intentional condition was significantly better than in the two deep processing conditions, and recall in these conditions was better than in the shallow condition. Cross-sample comparisons and subsequent implications for the validity of the model are discussed.

Qualitative Ratings of Human Development Journals in France, Great Britain and West Germany.

The perceived visibility and quality of human development journals in France, Great Britain, and West Germany was evaluated. Following the method employed by Peery and Adam