The effect of age on metamemory for working memory

It has been proposed that deficits in metamemory may underlie the performance deficits shown by older adults in a variety of memory tasks. The present study examined metamemory accuracy of older adults (n = 21) and younger adults (n = 32) in a working memory task. On each of 18 trials, 6 words were presented for immediate serial recall. Recall level was predicted and postdicted, and compared with actual recall. Older adults recalled fewer words than younger adults, but both age groups showed characteristic phonological similarity and word length effects. Metamemory accuracy was lower for older adults, who overestimated their recall performance. However, both age groups showed least accurate metamemory for phonologically similar words, and larger correlations between postdictions and recall than between predictions and recall. The results support the hypothesis that metamemory deficits in older adults may contribute to performance deficits in a working memory task.