Recent meta-analyses reveal age-related declines in short-term memory (STM), working memory, associative memory, prospective memory, face memory, recognition, and recall. The present meta-analyses extend this work beyond predominantly laboratory-based tasks to a naturalistic phenomenon. Flashbulb memories are vivid autobiographical recollections for the circumstances in which one learns of a distinct event that may be surprising, emotional, or personally important (the reception event). The existing literature on aging and flashbulb memories includes inconsistent findings. The present meta-analyses included 16 studies (N = 1898) that examined flashbulb memory in nonclinical samples of younger adults (below age 40 years) and older adults (above age 60 years). Findings, after exclusion of an outlier, suggest a small-to-moderate age-related impairment in flashbulb memory scores (k = 14, Hedges' g = -0.30, 95% CI [-0.45, -0.15], p < .001) that was not moderated by study characteristics. After exclusion of an outlier, older adults' flashbulb memories were also significantly less consistent across time than younger adults' (k = 7, Hedges' g = -0.29, 95% CI [-0.47, -0.11], p = .002). Secondary analyses investigated age-related differences in the presence and consistency of canonical categories of flashbulb memories and encoding and rehearsal variables associated with flashbulb memory formation and retention. Age-related differences were found only for consistency of memory for ongoing activity at the time of the reception event, favoring younger adults (k = 3, Hedges' g = -0.40, 95% CI [-0.65, -0.15], p = .002). Overall, these findings are consistent with age-related impairment in flashbulb memory formation and retention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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灯泡记忆中与年龄相关的差异：一项荟萃分析。

最近的荟萃分析显示，与年龄相关的短期记忆（STM），工作记忆，联想记忆，前瞻记忆，面部记忆，识别和记忆力下降。当前的荟萃分析将这项工作从主要基于实验室的任务扩展到了自然现象。闪光灯记忆是一种生动的自传式回忆，适用于以下情况：在这种情况下，人们学会了一项可能令人惊讶，激动或对个人重要的独特事件（接待事件）。有关衰老和闪光灯记忆的现有文献存在不一致的发现。目前的荟萃分析包括16项研究（N = 1898），这些研究检查了年轻人（40岁以下）和成年人（60岁以上）的非临床样本中的闪光灯记忆。在排除异常值后的发现，提示与年龄相关的小到快闪记忆力得分受损（k = 14，Hedges'g = -0.30，95％CI [-0.45，-0.15]，p <.001）并未被研究特征所缓解。排除异常值后，老年人的闪光灯记忆在时间上的一致性也显着低于年轻人（k = 7，Hedges'g = -0.29，95％CI [-0.47，-0.11]，p = .002） 。二级分析调查了与年龄相关的差异，其中包括与常规类型有关的闪光灯记忆以及与闪光灯记忆形成和保留相关的编码和排练变量。发现与年龄有关的差异仅是为了在接收事件发生时持续进行的活动具有记忆力，青睐年轻人（k = 3，Hedges's g = -0.40，95％CI [-0.65，-0.15]，p = .002）。总体，这些发现与年龄相关的闪光灯记忆形成和保留障碍有关。（PsycInfo数据库记录（c）2020 APA，保留所有权利）。