List and text recall differ in their predictors: Replication over samples and time

Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that latent list and text recall invoke somewhat different processes. A bivariate outcome path model of latent list and text recall evaluated the effects of age, latent speed, working memory, and vocabulary as their predictors. Independent of age, working memory reliably predicted both recall variables, whereas speed reliably predicted list recall only. The relationship between vocabulary and recall was mediated by age, working memory, and speed. The generalizability of this model, based on data from the 1994 testing of the Long Beach Longitudinal Study, was evaluated across samples by testing its invariance on baseline data from an additional panel and for eventual attrition at baseline and at a subsequent testing of retested participants and dropouts. Results showed that the model was invariant over all groups, supporting a replicable distinction between list and text recall. © The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved.