Citation

Bluck S, Levine LJ, Laulhere TM. Psychol. Aging 1999; 14(4): 671-682.

Affiliation

Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany. bluck@mpib-berlin.mpg.de

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, American Psychological Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10632153

Abstract

This study examined age differences in autobiographical memory and extended findings concerning hypermnesia in laboratory tasks to a real world event, the announcement of the verdict in the O. J. Simpson murder trial. Older and younger adults repeatedly recalled the event in a single session. Interviews were coded for amount and type of accurate information and for errors. The age groups did not differ in ability to recall the gist of the event or in the number of errors made. Younger adults were better at remembering when the event had occurred. Both age groups showed hypermnesia. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of autobiographical memory across the life span and the phenomenon of hypermnesia in everyday memory.

Language: en