A citizen science research project between Kent’s School of Psychology and the University of the Third Age (U3A) has been published in the journal ‘Memory’.
The University has a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with the U3A which sees its academics working with retired and semi-retired people in the Canterbury community. The psychology study, led by Louisa Salhi and Dr Zara Bergström, explored whether older adults would show reductions in strategic memory processes in comparison with young adults. U3A members and undergraduate Kent students took part in the experiment, which required participants to carry out challenging word recognition tests.
Results showed that the older adults were just as likely to use strategic memory processes as the younger student participants, despite being on average 50 years older. General memory performance was also comparable across the age groups, which was unexpected based on previous research that has usually found that memory gets worse with older age. It is possible that the socially and cognitively stimulating lifestyle of U3A participants may underlie their good memory, or alternatively it could be the case that older people with good cognitive abilities are particularly likely to participate in lifelong learning opportunities.
Read the full news story at the the Kent News Centre.