Recall of Prose As a Function of Age and Input Modality

The results indicated that, for both age groups, opportunity for review required more reading time and led to significantly better recall than either the silent or aloud conditions, which did not differ.

Abstract

Three short paragraphs were presented to 18 young (means = 27.6 years) and 18 old (means = 67.2 years) female volunteers to evaluate the effects of three types of input conditions on recall. In the Aloud (combined auditory-visual) condition subjects read the paragraphs aloud, without review, four times (trials), and, after each reading, verbally recalled as much as possible. In the Silent (visual) condition the task was identical except that the paragraph was read silently. In the Review condition subjects also read silently, but were allowed to review the material. The results indicated that, for both age groups, opportunity for review required more reading time and led to significantly better recall than either the silent or aloud conditions, which did not differ. There were no age-related differences in the time used for reading the paragraphs. Further, an Age X Trial interaction indicated that age-related differences in recall were not significant until Trial 3, with the young subjects showing greater increases across trials than the old.