We remember how to organize grocery lists into categories like dairy products, meats, beverages, fruits, and vegetables, and we remember how to connect king to queen, link up with down, and pair chair with table as associations.

Psychologists call this kind of knowledge semantic memory. There is considerable research evidence that semantic memory does not decline with age

Vocabulary scores, for instance, often improve with age up to the 60s and are maintained by people well into their 80s. Because semantic knowledge does not decline, older adults have some very good tools to use for memorizing.

Copyright 2000