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Age Differences and the Impact of Mental Imagery in a Method of Loci Training Task
Umeå University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology.
2023 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

Gaining knowledge about methods of memory enhancement is important because it allows us to develop effective strategies and interventions to increase memory performance, optimize cognitive function, and potentially alleviate memory-related challenges such as age-related cognitive decline or memory disorders. This thesis aims to examine the influence of age on self-reported mental imagery (MI) experiences and investigate the potential effects of age and MI on memory training performance using the Method of Loci (MoL). The thesis utilizes data collected from a mobile application from a previous research project conducted at Umeå University. The main findings of this thesis indicate that older adults spent more time on encoding and retrieval tasks, suggesting a decline in cognitive processing speed. However, there was no significant decline in MI ability with age, challenging previous research and suggesting that MI ability may remain relatively stable throughout the lifespan. The findings also suggest that there was no significant correlation between higher MI ability and performance in MoL training. Participants rating themselves as having weaker MI were often achieving high levels in the MoL-training, indicating the potential utilization of alternative cognitive strategies than MI. Spending more time on encoding and retrieval tasks was associated with better performance in MoL training. The findings suggest that age-related declines in processing speed may not necessarily hinder individuals' ability to utilize MoL effectively. However, the findings challenge the idea that MI is such a decisive factor in MoL training and raise questions about which other mechanisms work together for a successful result.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2023. , p. 19
Keywords [en]
Mental imagery, memory enhancement, memory training, Method of Loci, age, age-related decline, aphantasia
National Category
Psychology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-210457OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-210457DiVA, id: diva2:1772601
Subject / course
Examensarbete i psykologi
Educational program
Programme in Cognitive Science
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2023-06-22 Created: 2023-06-21 Last updated: 2023-06-26Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

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Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
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Output format
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