2020 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 21-29
The purpose of this study was to elucidate characteristics of recognition about instances of forgetting in everyday life for older adults using a composite questionnaire. A total of 310 adults (197 younger, 20-23 years; 113 older, 60-86 years) participated in the study, in which participants were instructed to answer questionnaire items relating to characteristics of recognition about instances of forgetting. Items were drawn from the Metamemory in Adulthood and the Meta-cognitive Beliefs about Thought Suppression Questionnaire, as well as the Self-rating Scales for Memory in the elderly. In addition, only old adults were asked to answer a set of open-ended question about everyday forgetting. Through a correlation analysis, the results revealed that recognition about forgetting had a positive relationship with anxiety about memory behavior in young adults and old adults. Furthermore, feeling of out-of-control in forgetting had a positive relationship with confidence in paradoxical effects of thought suppression on young adults. The answers to open-ended questions suggested that old adults are not pessimistic about forgetting.
