Psychology Commons^™

Age Declines In Memory Self-Efficacy: General Or Limited To Particular Tasks And Measure?, Robin Lea West, Jane M. Berry

Psychology Faculty Publications

The potential for lifelong learning has been demonstrated clearly in research on problem solving, prose recall, and other measures of mental skill (Reese & Puckett, 1993; Sinnott, 1989). However, there are factors that may serve as barriers to lifelong learning for older adults (see Arenberg, chapter 23 in this volume). Among others, these factors include age changes in attentional or memory capacity (e.g., Salthouse, 1991), declines in memory self-confidence or change in memory beliefs (e.g., Berry, West & Dennehy, 1989), and reduced opportunities for education and training (e.g., Rebok & Offermann, 1983). This chapter focuses on self-report or subjective beliefs …