Working memory as a processing resource in cognitive aging

Abstract Research concerned with the interrelations of adult age, working memory, and cognitive functioning is reviewed. It is proposed that evaluations of the effects of aging on working memory can be classified into within-context and out-of-context assessments. Within-context assessments consist of observations about working memory capacity derived while participants are performing actual cognitive tasks. Out-of-context assessments, on the other hand, are obtained from tasks deliberately designed to measure the efficiency of selected aspects of an individual's working memory. Both types of assessments have yielded results suggesting that increased age across the adult years is associated with reductions in the effectiveness of working memory. Unfortunately, very little information is yet available concerning the relation between the two types of evaluations at any age, and currently available results are also equivocal with respect to how adult age differences in working memory are best conceptualized (e.g., reduced storage capacity, impaired processing efficiency, or diminished ability to coordinate simultaneous activities). Despite conceptual problems associated with the construct of working memory, there appears to be considerable heuristic value in the idea that at least some adult age-related differences in cognitive functioning are attributable to reductions in the simultaneous storage and processing of information.