Motivated Memory for What Matters Most

Abstract

Abstract Aging is associated with declines in cognitive functioning and memory; however, research has shown that older adults can and do compensate for these declines in a variety of ways. This chapter discusses various theories of motivational shifts in older adulthood, older adults’ ability to selectively remember important information, and the importance of prior knowledge in the ability to compensate for declines in memory and cognition as a result of aging. Older adults can also use their metacognitive awareness to engage in strategies to improve memory for goal-specific information by selectively allocating attentional resources to what is most important. Intrinsic motivational influences on memory and cognition, such as emotion and curiosity, are also discussed. The chapter presents an overview of how metacognition, curiosity, emotion, goals, and strategic encoding can bias and enhance memory selectivity such that older adults are often tuned to remember what is most important.

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