Yanxin Xu (University of Victoria)

Presenter: Yanxin Xu (University of Victoria)

Title: The Role of Prior Knowledge in Shaping Memory Across the Adult Lifespan

Abstract:

Research has consistently shown that memory performance declines with age. However, one notable exception is information that aligns with prior knowledge—older adults tend to remember such knowledge congruent information as well as younger adults do. Although extensive evidence suggests that older adults rely on prior knowledge to support memory, it remains unclear how this reliance shapes the underlying memory representations across age. The present study aims to address this gap by systematically manipulating the congruency of learned information with prior knowledge and examining memory performance parametrically. Task design details and predictions will be discussed.

As part of our effort to produce data-driven stimili for the proposed study, we invite all members of the CaBSSem community who meet the eligibility criterias (1.have normal or corrected-to-normal vision, 2.have no known or diagnosed colour deficiency (e.g., colourblindness) disorder(s), and 3.have resided in North America for 5 or more years (cumulative) in your lifetime.) to participate in a 25min online norming study following this link: https://run.pavlovia.org/anna.lawrance/banana_colournorming?rec=general_pub.

The talk will be in person in the Psychology Reading room, COR A228, from 3:00 – 4:30.