Date of Award

2005

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology

College

College of Liberal Arts

Type of Degree

Psy.D.

Document Type

Dissertation

First Advisor

Thomas Ellis

Second Advisor

Steven Mewaldt

Third Advisor

David Trumpower

Abstract

The focus of this study was to examine the effectiveness of memory training programs in improving the metamemory (i.e., subjective memory characteristics) of healthy older adults by integrating recent research findings in a meta-analysis. In particular, the following research questions were proposed: (a) How effective are memory training programs in improving the subjective memory characteristics of healthy older adults with memory complaints? (b) Which components of the memory training programs increase the effectiveness of memory training (in terms of metamemory characteristics)? (c) How do the results of this meta-analysis compare to those reported by Floyd and Scogin (1997)? Studies that met the inclusion criteria were examined thoroughly for the following types of information: type of group (treatment, control, placebo), number of participants included in the study, mean age of participants, type and number of training components utilized, length of training sessions, training modality (i.e., individual versus group), and use of technologies. The weighted average effect size for treatment groups was 0.39. Initially, no significant differences were found between expectancy change conditions and traditional memory training conditions. Furthermore, none of the hypothesized moderator variables were found to significantly contribute to effect size magnitude. However, post-hoc analyses calculated after removing outliers showed significant differences between expectancy change conditions and traditional memory training conditions with the weighted average effect size of expectancy change conditions (d = 0.56) being significantly larger than that of traditional memory training conditions (d= 0.30). Moreover, post-hoc regression analyses revealed that the hypothesized regression model was a significant predictor of the effect size magnitude with two of the hypothesized moderators, multifactorial interventions and use of technology, being the best predictors in the model and another hypothesized moderator, training modality, approaching statistical significance within the model. These results have numerous clinical and practical implications for future research and the development of therapeutic intervention programs.

Subject(s)

Memory - Age factors.

Mnemonics - Evaluation.

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