Awareness of Memory Ability and Change: (In)Accuracy of Memory Self-Assessments in Relation to Performance

Abstract

Little is known about subjective assessments of memory abilities and decline among middle-aged adults or their association with objective memory performance in the general population. In this study we examined self-ratings of memory ability and change in relation to episodic memory performance in two national samples of middle-aged and older adults from the Midlife in the United States study (MIDUS II in 2005-06) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; every two years from 2002 to 2012). MIDUS (Study 1) participants (N=3,581) rated their memory compared to others their age and to themselves five years ago; HRS (Study 2) participants (N=14,821) rated their current memory and their memory compared to two years ago, with up to six occasions of longitudinal data over ten years. In both studies, episodic memory performance was the total number of words recalled in immediate and delayed conditions. When controlling for demographic and health correlates, self-ratings of memory abilities, but not subjective change, were related to performance. We examined accuracy by comparing subjective and objective memory ability and change. More than one third of the participants across the studies had self-assessments that were inaccurate relative to their actual level of performance and change, and accuracy differed as a function of demographic and health factors. Further understanding of self-awareness of memory abilities and change beginning in midlife may be useful for identifying early warning signs of decline, with implications regarding policies and practice for early detection and treatment of cognitive impairment.

Self-regulatory strategies in daily life

“…The daily nature of our study could allow for less bias in retrospective recall. Consistent with past work suggesting that self-ratings of memory abilities were related to memory performance (Rickenbach et al, 2015), our results indicated that cognitive resources were negatively correlated with memory problems, suggesting that those lower in memory abilities actually reported more daily memory problems. For the purposes of this study and the focus on memory problems, episodic memory was chosen as the most relevant measure of cognitive resources.…”

“…Specifically, we tested whether SOC use moderated the relationship between cognitive resources and/or daily stressors and memory problems. Despite a significant negative bivariate correlation between cognitive resources and memory problems, when controlling for all covariates, neither age nor cognitive resources were associated with memory problems, Past work has found that objective memory performance on tests is not necessarily correlated with memory problems and that adults of all ages complain of memory problems (Jungwirth et al, 2004; Rickenbach et al, 2015; Lachman, 2004; Slavin et al, 2010; Van Bergen et al, 2009). …”

“…One issue concerning subjective assessments of memory problems is that the very nature of self-reporting memory requires awareness or perceptions of memory problems (Rickenbach, Agrigoroaei, & Lachman, 2015). Therefore, those who have worse memory may be less aware of memory deficits, and thus less likely to report memory problems (Hertzog & Pearman, 2014).…”

“…However, it is unclear under what conditions SOC usage contributes to better everyday functioning. The challenges of stress and resource limitations can affect everyday memory problems (Hahn & Lachman, 2014; Rickenbach, Agrigoroaei, & Lachman, 2015) – one of the most frequent complaints across the lifespan (Lachman, 2004; Slavin et al, 2010). Therefore, the goal of the present study was to examine whether SOC usage varies in relation to situational constraints, and to what extent SOC is beneficial for daily memory.…”

Introduction to Special Issue for 20th Anniversary of the NIA Centers for the Demography and Economics of Aging

“…Cognitive aging is inherently a longterm process; cross-sectional analyses were always severely constrained by the inability to distinguish cohort differences from true effects of aging. The article by Rickenbach et al (2015) in this special issue on memory self-assessments would not have been possible in 1994; it uses data collected on up to six occasions over 10 years by the Health and Retirement Study, complemented by rich data including neuroimaging from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS II) study. Their finding that self-assessment of memory problems and of recent decline in function are very weakly related to actual performance or change in performance; this is a fundamental problem for a health care system which relies overwhelmingly on self-assessment and presentation for diagnosis of cognitive impairment.…”