2019/12/03 by Kim Archambeau, Birte U. Forstmann, Leendert van Maanen +1 · 1 citation
Neuroscience · Psychology · #Memory Processes and Influences #Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies #Cognitive Functions and Memory
paper · pdf · doi:10.3758/s13423-019-01671-0
openalex publication_date 2019/12/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information interrupts the storage or retrieval of new information. Congruent with previous reports, traditional analyses dealing with response times and error rates separately have indicated an increase in sensitivity to proactive interference in older adults. We reanalyzed the same data using diffusion decision model (DDM). Such models enable a more fine-grained interpretation concerning the latent processing mechanisms underlying performance. Now a different picture emerged. The DDM results showed that older adults needed more evidence than young adults before responding. The results also clearly indicated that peripheral processes (encoding time and motor execution), as well as recognition memory, decline with age. However, the drift rates, reflecting proactive interference, were similar, suggesting-contrary to earlier reports-that the inhibitory processes observed with this paradigm remain intact in older adults.