The survival effect in memory: does it hold into old age and non-ancestral scenarios?

PLoS One. 2014 May 2;9(5):e95792. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095792. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

The survival effect in memory refers to the memory enhancement for materials encoded in reference to a survival scenario compared to those encoded in reference to a control scenario or with other encoding strategies. The current study examined whether this effect is well maintained in old age by testing young (ages 18-29) and older adults (ages 65-87) on the survival effect in memory for words encoded in ancestral and/or non-ancestral modern survival scenarios relative to a non-survival control scenario. A pilot study was conducted to select the best matched comparison scenarios based on potential confounding variables, such as valence and arousal. Experiment 1 assessed the survival effect with a well-matched negative control scenario in both young and older adults. The results showed an age-equivalent survival effect across an ancestral and a non-ancestral modern survival scenario. Experiment 2 replicated the survival effect in both age groups with a positive control scenario. Taken together, the data suggest a robust survival effect that is well preserved in old age across ancestral and non-ancestral survival scenarios.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Aging / physiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Memory / physiology*
  • Mental Recall / physiology
  • Middle Aged
  • Reaction Time / physiology
  • Survival / physiology*
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant (371762-2009, http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/index_eng.asp), awarded to LY. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.