# Effects of Selective Retrieval Practice on Older Adults: Lesser Benefits, Greater Losses

## TL;DR

Selective retrieval practice harms memory for unpracticed information more in older adults than in younger adults.

## Contribution

The study reveals that retrieval-induced forgetting is more persistent and less mitigable in older adults.

## Key findings

- Older adults showed robust retrieval-induced forgetting while young adults did not in Experiment 1.
- Older adults experienced retrieval-induced forgetting but young adults showed retrieval-induced facilitation in Experiment 2.
- Integration techniques predicted retrieval outcomes for young but not for older adults.

## Abstract

Retrieval practice enhances memory for practiced information, but at the price of impairing memory for unpracticed information, a phenomenon known as retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF). Evidence has shown that, for young adults, RIF can be eliminated after a long interval and when textual information is used as a memorandum. The current study aims to determine whether RIF is more durable and difficult to overcome for older adults due to their cognitive deficits. Both young and older participants completed a learning session on Day 1, during which they studied word pairs (Experiment 1) or scientific prose (Experiment 2). Then, they engaged in selective retrieval practice on Days 3, 5, or 7. Finally, they undertook a final test on Day 8. Experiment 1 showed no RIF for young but a robust RIF for older participants. Experiment 2 observed retrieval-induced facilitation for young but RIF for older participants. Although both young and older participants were encouraged to use an integration technique to facilitate learning during Experiment 2, the levels of integration only predicted the magnitudes of retrieval-induced facilitation for young but not for older participants. This study shows that older adults should be careful of carrying out selective retrieval because this may produce a more durable impairment in their memory for unpracticed information.