What tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon says about cognitive aging

[kestrell]

As with many issues in cognitive aging, we can view the increase in TOT states as a glass half empty or half full. On the one hand, these retrieval failures can be taken as evidence of weakening connections between the meanings of concepts and the words that denote them in long-term memory. It’s also possible that the increase in word-finding problems with age reflects something very different.

Psychologist Donna Dahlgren has argued that the key issue is not one of age but one of knowledge. If older adults typically have more information in long-term memory, then as a consequence they will experience more TOT states. It’s also possible that TOT states are useful: They can serve as a signal to the older adult that the sought-for word is known, even if not currently accessible. Such metacognitive information is beneficial because it signals that spending more time trying to resolve the word-finding failure may ultimately lead to success.
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/tip-of-the-tongue-phenomenon/

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

This is a great reframing!

[kestrell]

Yes, I think it's a great reminder to not make assumptions that aging automatically equates to losing cognitive ability. I think it was a couple of weeks ago that I linked to a science article about studies which have demonstrated that scientists over 60 retain their expert knowledge, and even have better narrative abilities than younger people. If you think how storytellers are traditionally older seniors, that makes a lot of sense.

[cvirtue]

... although it can be affected by physiological changes, which you probably know already. Having kids caused my aphasia to increase a LOT and never went back to a more normal level.

[jesse_the_k]

It's probably impossible to tease apart causes, but do you perceive the aphasia as linked to pregnancy/delivery or the constant multitasking childrearing demands?

[cvirtue]

The pregnancy itself. It started sometime during gestation.
There was separate mental shenanigans due to being interrupt-driven for YEARS, but it was a different kind.