Do you think age affects memory?

[Jordz16]

Hey guys and girls, i'am doing my Maths IA on the following topic Assessing the memory of people at different age.

Just want to know what people think about that? so if you have anything to talk about feel free to post things!!

thanks

[Mahuta ♥]

*Do not use text speak*

Ok, here's what I think, younger people have the ability to memorize things much faster than older people. As you get older, your ability to memorize things become weaker, it will take longer for an adult to memorize something a kid can memorize in less time.

I am talking about long term memory, short term memory though, I think adults are better at that.

Having said this, why are you doing this as your MATH IA? Do you have like a test to do or something? Or statistics!?

[Daedalus]

I've never taken psychology but I think it would imagine it depends on what. Probably simple numerical memory (i.e. memories random strings of numbers) peaks at around age 18-21, but it seems possible that stuff like names, or words in other languages, or even pictures might be memorized easier until age 70 or something. Why? Because the richness of our experiences and memories is constantly increasing, and for names we have to be able to attach an emotion to them to remember them effectively (I think). Similarly, as you grow older you tend to speak more languages, or at least more fragments, and you certainly grow better at distinguishing different languages. So that might influence memory as well.

I would not underestimate old folks :-) it's not until we are like 50 that we really get noticeably stupider, and look at all the presidents/CEOs/self-made-billionaires. They're old, and it's no secret, experience takes time. And in today's world experience is paramount.

[Sublime Sunshine]

Well from a physiological perspective, it is easier for younger people to develop connections in the neurons in their brains as the brain is growing and developing. It is, therefore, easier to learn and remember things when you are young as there is plenty of availability for connections between neurons.

A side note though, I think there is a difference between conscious and subconscious memory. For instance, when you try your hardest to remember the different processes in the Haber cycle in chemistry. In this example you are consciously assigning information to your brain in attempt to force yourself to remember it. But i think there is also subconscious memory like a knowledge of all of the social customs that are a part of a society, or simply a knowledge of how to write with a pen. As you age I think that conscious memory gets worse and worse and then finally once that is degraded, the subconscious memory goes. I'm not too sure how to explain that physiologically, but that is certainly something that I have observed.

By the way, I think this is more the debate and discussion section rather than mathematics. Or it could just be my post

[JoeG]

Well, for my Psychology IA, I did something on Cued and Free Recall.

If you're doing memory tests, make sure that you know what these are, and what one you want to choose.

Generally, in Cued Recall, the person (lol) is given a hint, such as a category names.

In Free Recall, no hints are given, and the person must recall all items on their own.

For example in recalling household objects, you could give the categories of Kitchen, Office, Bedroom, and Living Room as the "cues."

In my IA, I found that Cued Recall significantly increased the amount of words the person recalled.

Another factor that you must take into consideration is time. Make sure that you give them enough time to see each item to be remembered (you could use a powerpoint) and that you give them enough time, but not too much, to recall all of the items.

Good luck!

*Do not use text speak*

Ok, here's what I think, younger people have the ability to memorize things much faster than older people. As you get older, your ability to memorize things become weaker, it will take longer for an adult to memorize something a kid can memorize in less time.

I am talking about long term memory, short term memory though, I think adults are better at that.

Having said this, why are you doing this as your MATH IA? Do you have like a test to do or something? Or statistics!?

I think that people who pick Math Studies SL have to pick their own project or something like that.

[Mahuta ♥]

Yeah, I know they do, but Jordz didn't mention any statistics or anything like that. It's a math project, they do need numbers and calculations. My point is, what is Jordz calculating?!