Abstract
This study aimed to create a new French version of the Hay and Jacoby habit-training procedure (1996; 1999) and apply it to novel populations to determine the degree to which habit and recollection were affected. Method: 36 young, 32 middle-aged, and 37 older adults participated in Experiment 1. 17 controls, 17 patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (a-MCI), and 17 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) were involved in Experiment 2. Participants were assessed across a variety of demographic, neuropsychological and psychopathological variables (e.g., depressive affects, subjective experience of cognitive failures, interference sensitivity). The habit-training process-dissociation was used to explore the cognitive mechanisms underlying memory slips to separate the contribution of habit and recollection to memory performance. Results: The data show a very clear pattern of decreased recollection with age, F(2, 102) = 25.12, p< .001, η p2 = .197, and age-related neurological impairment, F(2, 48) = 39.22, p< .001, η p2 = .62, with intact use of habit-based memory. Additional evidence for the validity of the process estimates is provided by theoretically meaningful correlations between the process estimates and measures of attentional control (Stroop test: r = −0.40) and subjective memory complaint (r = −0.45). Conclusions: Although likely not the same as familiarity, the data add to a growing literature suggesting that controlled forms of memory decline with age and in age-related neurological conditions (MCI and AD) whereas more automatic forms of memory (habit) remain intact. This research should improve understanding of memory complaints, preclinical and clinical dementia, and help target processes for rehabilitation.