The present research examined the role persistence plays in mediating the positive impact of memory self-efficacy (MSE, i.e., one’s confidence in one’s own memory abilities) on older adults’ memory performance. In three studies, 81 to 264 older adults completed an MSE scale and carried out an explicit episodic memory task, during which we recorded their study time as an indicator of task persistence. We found that higher MSE was indirectly related to better memory performance through greater persistence during encoding, as measured by longer study time. Indirect effects were of medium size, with point estimates ranging from 0.64 to 0.85. This mediation effect was independent of factors that could be confounded with study time: chronological age, memory span, prior level of memory performance, episodic memory ability, and use of learning strategies (encoding strategies and self-testing). When confronted with difficult memory tasks, older adults who lack confidence in their memory abilities cease their efforts prematurely, which contributes to a decrease in their performance. Encouraging older adults to persist in the face of difficulties during encoding and retrieval may help alleviate the negative impact of low MSE on memory performance and allow researchers and clinicians to more accurately estimate older adults’ true memory abilities.

中文翻译：

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老年人的记忆自我效能和记忆表现

本研究检验了持久性在调节记忆自我效能（MSE，即一个人对自己记忆能力的信心）对老年人记忆表现的积极影响中的作用。在三项研究中，81 到 264 名老年人完成了 MSE 量表并执行了外显情景记忆任务，在此期间我们记录了他们的学习时间作为任务持久性的指标。我们发现，更高的 MSE 与更好的记忆性能间接相关，通过更长的学习时间来衡量，编码过程中的持久性更强。间接影响中等，点估计值在 0.64 到 0.85 之间。这种中介效应与可能与学习时间混淆的因素无关：实际年龄、记忆跨度、先前的记忆表现水平、情景记忆能力、和使用学习策略（编码策略和自我测试）。当面对困难的记忆任务时，对自己的记忆能力缺乏信心的老年人会过早地停止努力，这会导致他们的表现下降。鼓励老年人在编码和检索过程中坚持面对困难可能有助于减轻低 MSE 对记忆性能的负面影响，并使研究人员和临床医生能够更准确地估计老年人的真实记忆能力。