ABSTRACT

The effect of age on episodic memory has recently been shown to be modulated by individual characteristics such as psycho-emotional status. We investigated the combined effects of age and a psycho-emotional variable, Self-Esteem, on episodic memory (Cued-recall and recognition). We also examined the contribution of anxiety level on the influence of Self-Esteem on episodic memory during aging. This study revealed different patterns of the Self-Esteem effect according to age group. The effect on cued-recall was accounted for by Anxiety in the younger adults, although Self-Esteem and Anxiety seem to be overlapping dimensions for this age group. By contrast, in the older adults, the two factors influenced memory performance (recognition) independently, suggesting that older adults are particularly sensitive to the factors associated with the Self. We also postulate that there is a zone of optimal executive control by the Self (region of proximal executive control), corresponding to task difficulty linked to the individual’s feeling of self-efficacy.

摘要

年龄对情景记忆的影响最近已被证明受个人特征（例如心理情绪状态）的调节。我们调查了年龄和心理情绪变量自尊对情景记忆（提示回忆和识别）的综合影响。我们还研究了焦虑水平对衰老过程中自尊对情景记忆的影响的贡献。这项研究揭示了不同年龄组的自尊效应模式。对提示回忆的影响是由年轻人的焦虑引起的，尽管自尊和焦虑似乎是这个年龄段的重叠维度。相比之下，在老年人中，这两个因素独立影响记忆表现（识别），表明老年人对与自我相关的因素特别敏感。