Response bias reflects the decision rule an individual uses when faced
with uncertainty on recognition memory tasks. Recent studies indicate
frontal regions may mediate response bias performance. One theory of aging
also implicates frontal lobe contributions in age-related cognitive
changes. This suggests that frontal lobe changes may mediate response bias
in older adults. Consistent with this frontal aging hypothesis, we
predicted that response bias would become more liberal with age. Methods:
Participants were 181 younger (30–49) and 112 older normal adults
(75+) that were part of the California Verbal Learning Test-second edition
(CVLT-2) normative sample (total n = 1078). We used parametric
measures of discriminability and response bias provided by the CVLT-2
scoring program. Groups were similar in IQ and education. Multi-level
regression models were created to examine the effects of moderating
variables. The interaction between age and age group significantly
predicted response bias. Post hoc analysis indicated that increasing age
was associated with more liberal bias in the older but not in the younger
group. In the light of reported relationships between frontal regions and
both aging and response bias, we hypothesize that frontal changes may be
the underlying mechanism explaining the increase in liberal response bias
with age. (JINS, 2006, 12, 1–7.)