Executive processes, memory accuracy, and memory monitoring: An aging and individual difference analysis

The current study examined the neuropsychological correlates of memory accuracy in older and younger adults. Participants were tested in a memory monitoring paradigm developed by Koriat and Goldsmith (1996), which permits separate assessments of the accuracy of responses generated during retrieval and the accuracy of monitoring those responses. Participants were also administered a battery of tests designed to measure executive functioning and speed of processing. Results indicated that both age and executive measures were predictive of accuracy, while speed of processing measures accounted for little of the variability in accuracy. Path analyses demonstrated that a substantial portion of the effect of executive function measures on memory accuracy in free report was mediated by the quantity of correct responses available in forced report, which in turn was partially mediated by monitoring accuracy. These data suggest that individual differences in executive function are important in memory accuracy.