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Age-related Deficits in Intentional Memory for Spatial Location in Small-scale Space: A Meta-Analysis and Methodological Critique*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Pierre Foisy
Pierre Foisy
Affiliation:
Concordia University
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Abstract

The goal of this meta-analysis was to provide an estimation of the average effect of aging on intentional memory for spatial location in small-scale space. Findings from 22 studies, which represent the testing of 1,598 subjects, were compared using the following statistics: (a) d (Cohen, 1988), (b) omega2 (Hays, 1963), and (c) Proportion of classified subjects. The meta-analysis suggests that the effect of aging is “large” (e.g., the average d was 0.81), and that it is proportional to the number of dimensions of the array used. However, these conclusions have to be treated with caution because of some methodological limitations of the reviewed literature. In particular, less than half of the studies mentioned (a) control for differences often found between young and elderly adults in visual acuity, and (b) having used a test phase of fixed duration. It is recommended that future research on age-related deficits in spatial memory take into account these confounds.

Résumé

Le but de cette méta-analyse était d'estimer l'effet du vieillissement sur la mémoire intentionnelle de locations dans un espace de petite dimension. Les résultats de 22 études, représentant au total 1 598 sujets, ont été comparés grâce aux indices suivante: (a) d (Cohen, 1988), (b) omega2 (Hays, 1963), et (c) Proportion des sujets classifiés. La méta-analyse suggére que l'effet du vieillissement est «large» (e.g., d moyen de 0.81), et que cet effet est proportionnel au nombre de dimensions de l'espace utilisé. Toutefois, la validité de ces conclusions est incertaine lorsqu'on considére les limites méthodologiques des études recensées. En particulier, moins de la moitié de ces études ont mentionné avoir contrôlé l'effet possible de variables telles que (a) l'acuité visuelle, et (b) la durée de la phase de rappel. Il est proposé que compte de ces variables exogénes.

Keywords

AgingSpatial MemorySmall-scale SpaceIntentional MemoryMeta-analysisVieillissementmémoire spatialeespace de petite dimensionmémoire intentionnelleméta-analyse
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , Automne/Fall 1994 , pp. 353 - 367
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1994

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