The facilitatory effect of modifications (semantic richness) on subsequent retrieval during language comprehension is age-invariant, but depends on level of engagement with task.

Abstract

Past research has shown that semantically richer (i.e., modified) words are retrieved more easily at a subsequent point during language comprehension relative to less rich (i.e., unmodified) words, presumably due to more robust encoding of modified words. We investigated if this modification effect is modulated by age and/or the level of engagement with the task. Young and older participants (total N = 120) read sentences containing unmodified and premodified words followed by a critical verb that triggered their retrieval. The results showed that the retrieval benefit was not modulated by age but depended on the accuracy rates on comprehension questions (a proxy for task engagement), with the retrieval benefit emerging only for participants with lower accuracy rates. We replicated this engagement effect in a reanalysis of an independent, large data set from younger adults (N = 333). Based on these results, it is possible that when engagement is high, the memory representations associated with critical words may remain in the focus of attention when retrieval is being triggered, obviating a retrieval operation and eliminating the modification effect. However, when engagement is low, the critical memory representations may fade to a degree that the modification effect can emerge. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).