Forty-five-year-old Gustav says, "I am not looking forward to growing old because I know that my memory will fail.". Discuss ways in which Gustav's statement is valid and ways in which his statement is misguided

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Working memory, which involves holding information in mind and simultaneously using it to solve a problem or perform some function, generally declines with age. Implicit memory is the unconscious remembering of information learned at some earlier time. Not all implicit memory declines with age. Explicit memory is the deliberate and conscious remembering of information that is learned and remembered at a specific time. Episodic memory is a type of explicit memory and has to do with the recollection of information from a specific time or event. On tests of episodic memory recall, older adults omit more information, include more intrusions, and repeat more previously recalled items. Aging does not affect semantic memory (another type of explicit memory) which involves remembering meanings of words or concepts not tied to a specific time or event. In regards to autobiographical memory, which is memory for events that occur during one's life, older adults tend to report fewer details and to remember more positive than negative events.