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Name and Face Learning in Older Adults: Effects of Level of Processing, Self-Generation, and Intention to Learn

¹ Department of Psychology, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
² Department of Psychology, Glendon College, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
³ Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care and University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Address correspondence to Angela K. Troyer, PhD, Psychology Department, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada. E-mail: atroyer{at}baycrest.org

Many older adults are interested in strategies to help them learn new names. We examined the learning conditions that provide maximal benefit to name and face learning. In Experiment 1, consistent with levels-of-processing theory, name recall and recognition by 20 younger and 20 older adults was poorest with physical processing, intermediate with phonemic processing, and best with semantic processing. In Experiment 2, name and face learning in 20 younger and 20 older adults was maximized with semantic processing of names and physical processing of faces. Experiment 3 showed a benefit of self-generation and of intentional learning of name–face pairs in 24 older adults. Findings suggest that memory interventions should emphasize processing names semantically, processing faces physically, self-generating this information, and keeping in mind that memory for the names will be needed in the future.