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Memory anxiety and memory performance in adulthood
Author(s) -
Davidson H. A.,
Dixon R. A.,
Hultsch D. F.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/acp.2350050504
Subject(s) - psychology , anticipation (artificial intelligence) , anxiety , metamemory , developmental psychology , young adult , clinical psychology , cognition , psychiatry , metacognition , artificial intelligence , computer science
The present study examined the contribution of general and domain‐specific anxiety to the prediction of memory performance in a sample of 350 young, middle‐aged and old adults. In a preliminary stage of this investigation, psychometric analyses revealed that the predictive validity of the Anxiety scale of the Metamemory in Adulthood questionnaire, used to assess memory‐related anxiety, could be improved by using an abbreviated version of the scale. This Memory Anxiety subscale predicted level of state anxiety experienced by middle‐aged and older subjects in anticipation of a memory‐demanding task. It was superior to the general state measures in predicting actual memory performance, but only for the oldest age group. Results thus provide support for domain‐ and age‐specificity in the assessment of anxiety performance relationships.