Answer to Question 1
One of the main functions of memory is to give one a sense of identity.
Autobiographical memory involves remembering information and events from our own lives. This type of memory is primarily episodic, although it can involve semantic memory as well. Autobiographical memories change over time for all adults. The number of autobiographical memories increases the fastest between the ages of 18 and 25. Details for autobiographical events change over time. While it would seem that highly traumatic or unexpected events would remain unchanged in memory, this is not always the case. When comparing people's accounts of flashbulb memories with objective accounts of events, people's memories are often wrong. The errors in autobiographical memory help explain why eyewitness testimony is often unreliable.
Answer to Question 2
Divided attention is concerned with how well people can perform more than one task at the same time. It is widely believed that older adults have more trouble than younger adults with divided attention. However, it appears that the age differences are due to older adult's difficulties with individual tasks, not dividing their attention across the tasks per se. Observational studies reveal that older workers are just as able to multitask, but they perform each task slightly slower than younger workers.
There is one caveat. When the tasks become complex, older adults do have more trouble dividing their attention and, as a result, their performance suffers.
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