本研究は,高齢者の説明文記憶において,標識の明示性を高めることが,体制化方略の変更を支援し,構造的に体系化する方略を駆動することで,その所産である説明文の記憶をも支援するという仮説を検証した。この検証にあたって,高齢者(平均年齢69.77歳)と大学生(平均年齢21.57歳)に対して,文配列課題,再生課題,再構成課題を行った。結果から次の2点が示された。第1に,体制化過程で現れる修正的な配列の出現頻度を体制化方略の変更の測度とみなして分析したところ,標識の明示性に応じて高齢者の方略変更を向上させ,加齢差が緩和されることが確認された。第2に,標識の明示性によってもたらされた高齢者の方略変更がその所産である説明文記憶を規定するという効果過程が確認できた。特に,明示性の高い標識は,高齢者の体制化のレベルと,含意された通りに後で再現する再構成のレベルをともに向上させる一方で,明示性の低い標識ではそれらへの効果が弱まることが示された。以上から,標識に視覚形式を付加して明示性を高めると,高齢者の体制化方略の変更を支援し,その所産である説明文の記憶をも支援することが示された。

The present article examines the hypothesis that improving the explicitness of signals by adding visual forms would support organizational strategy changes for prose memory in older adults, initiating a structure strategy and promoting prose memory that is the outcome of the strategy changes. In order to examine the above hypothesis, 90 older adults (mean age=69.77 years) and 90 university students (mean age=21.57 years) were asked to perform a sentence arrangement task, a recall task, and a reconstruction task. The results of these tasks were as follows: (a) Analyzing the frequency of modified arrangements in the organization process as a measure of strategy changes indicated that the older adults' strategy changes improved, depending on the explicitness of the signals, and that aging-related constraints were mitigated. (b) The results confirmed that strategy changes by the older adults that were initiated by the explicitness of the signals caused the effects processes extending to prose memory. Especially, signals with high explicitness improved both the organizational level and the reconstruction level of the older adults (reconstruction level is the degree to which people later are able to reconstruct what was implied). Conversely, signals with low explicitness had little effect on these variables. The present findings suggest that improving the explicitness of signals by adding visual forms would support organization strategy changes and promote prose memory in older adults.