ABSTRACT
Message production begins with the formulation of a message and includes steps of syntactic encoding, lexical selection, and discourse planning prior to the final step of phonological production. Errors, reflecting attentional lapses, processing limitations, and execution problems, can arise at any stage of production. Normative aging processes, arising from general slowing of cognitive processes (Salthouse, 1992), reductions of working memory capacity (Light, 1991), or a breakdown of inhibitory processes (Hasher & Zacks, 1988), may exacerbate such production problems; specific diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other progressive dementias, may also affect message production. On the other hand, maintenance of or increases in social knowledge, for example, wisdom (Simonton, 1990; Smith & Baltes, 1990), may be related to improved discourse planning on the part of older persons. This chapter examines what is currently known about how normal aging affects message production and reviews available research on how Alzheimer’s disease affects message production. It must be noted at the outset that research on aging and message production has, like the study of production processes in general, lagged behind studies of message comprehension and memory because of the difficulties inherent in experimentally manipulating production processes. The chapter concludes by considering the criteria for an adequate model of message production in aging.
