Memory tends to decline as people get older. This explains why elderly people find it difficult to recall names, dates and events. This is due to the fact that our brain is no longer in the same shape it used to be in and our ability to recall has slowed down. ("Memory Decline over the Lifespan", 2015). Generally, results of research studies indicate that there may be some naturally occurring decline in some aspects of memory among older people. (Grivas, J., Letch, N., Down, R., & Carter, L., 2010).
Causes:
- Loss of neurons and synapses in our brain.
- Lack of motivation (Older adults who have achieved their goals, raised families, etc. have little or no interest in memorising apparently meaningless material such as nonsense syllables, …show more content…
This slowing down of neural processes, called cognitive slowing, can impair performance in tasks involving memory as people age [Bashore, Ridderinkhof & Van der Molen, 1997].)
- The frontal lobes shrinking (In a psychological experiment, older people [whose frontal lobes showed reduced activity] performed poorly on three memory test tasks compared with younger people. Thus, maintenance of cognitive abilities into old age may depend to some extent on the condition and functioning of the frontal lobes of the brain)
- Decay Theory (things are forgotten because the physical memory trace has disappeared due to the passage of time. According to the theory, metabolic processes happen over time which causes the structural change to break down if it is not maintained through repetition)
- Interference (when one set of learning interferes with another. For example, things learned in the past may interfere with thing learned now [or vice
Causes:
- Loss of neurons and synapses in our brain.
- Lack of motivation (Older adults who have achieved their goals, raised families, etc. have little or no interest in memorising apparently meaningless material such as nonsense syllables, …show more content…
This slowing down of neural processes, called cognitive slowing, can impair performance in tasks involving memory as people age [Bashore, Ridderinkhof & Van der Molen, 1997].)
- The frontal lobes shrinking (In a psychological experiment, older people [whose frontal lobes showed reduced activity] performed poorly on three memory test tasks compared with younger people. Thus, maintenance of cognitive abilities into old age may depend to some extent on the condition and functioning of the frontal lobes of the brain)
- Decay Theory (things are forgotten because the physical memory trace has disappeared due to the passage of time. According to the theory, metabolic processes happen over time which causes the structural change to break down if it is not maintained through repetition)
- Interference (when one set of learning interferes with another. For example, things learned in the past may interfere with thing learned now [or vice