Memory and Aging Growing older is difficult on a personal level for many people. They might have trouble adjusting to changes in how they look or what they can do, and the limitations in daily life, even if minor, can cause them concern. One concern for nearly all older adults is memory. No other criterion is used more often to evaluate how we are doing. And for good reason! No other cognitive skill is as pervasive in everything we do, from remembering what we need at the grocery store to remembering how to get there (Cavanaugh, 1998b). Memory loss is also a preoccupation of American culture, reflected in the prevalence of cartoons and jokes about memory and aging. One of the common complaints of middleaged and older adults is that their memory is "not as good as it used to be.