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Strategy Use Mediates the Relationship Between Control Beliefs and Memory Performance for Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts.

Address correspondence to Margie E. Lachman, Department of Psychology, MS 062, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454. E-mail: Lachman{at}Brandeis.edu

We examined whether the relationship between control beliefs and memory performance varied for young, middle-aged, and older adults and whether strategy use mediated this relationship. Participants were 335 adults, ages 21 to 83, who had been recruited from local probability samples. We used structural equation modeling to test the predicted model and compare it by age group (young, middle-aged, and older adults). As expected, control beliefs were related to memory performance on a word list recall task for middle-aged and older adults, but not for younger adults. An analysis of indirect effects revealed that strategy use partially mediated this relationship. Specifically, middle-aged and older adults who perceived greater control over cognitive functioning were more likely to categorize the words and had better recall performance.