Issue 3/4 Vol. 38 1996

Visual image generation and repetition priming in young and older adults

WIPPICH, W., MECKLENBRÄUKER, S.

Previous research has shown that repetition priming can be found in visual image processing. On a spelling task subjects had to generate word images before the spelling. If this task is repeated, old words can be spelled faster than new ones. In Experiment 1, the spelling task was administered to younger adults and to older adults. The results demonstrated a normal effect of priming in the elderly whereas an explicit measure of memory (i.e., recognition memory) showed a typical age-related decline in performance. In Experiment 2, priming was explored with an explicit task of image generation. The subjects were instructed to build up sequentially images of figures. Once again, the results showed normal effects of repetition priming in the elderly (i.e., shorter generation times for old versus new figures) as well as an age-related decline in recognition performance. Priming depended on an exact duplication of the generation steps at testing and could be extended to transposed figures. It is concluded that processes of coordination and calibration in generating images do contribute to priming effects in younger as well as in older adults.

Keywords: implicit memory, repetition priming, image generation, spelling task, effects of aging

Short Title: Wippich, W. (1996) PsyBeit 3-4:500

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