Does Stress Matter? No Evidence for Age Differences in Inference Generation Under Acute Stress

Narrative comprehension involves deriving meaning from information and constructing a mental representation of a narrative's components. It conveys knowledge, information, and explanations, playing a crucial role in everyday life. Inferencing – is one of the key processes in narrative comprehension. While cognitive changes associated with aging are well-documented, research on narrative comprehension and inferencing in older adults remains inconclusive, highlighting the need for further study. Despite being ever-present in modern life, the role of stress in this process also remains largely unexplored. This online study involved 298 participants, who were randomly assigned to either a stress group, which underwent stress induction, or a control group. Participants viewed picture-based narratives and were tasked with filling in missing elements by describing the middle part of the story in their own words. This approach differs from previous studies that primarily assessed inferences using comprehension questions or true-false statements, enabling us to capture the inference generation process as it unfolds.The findings show that narrative comprehension, including inference generation, remains stable across age and education groups and is unaffected by acute stress. This highlights the resilience of these abilities, even under challenging conditions. The implications for cognitive theories and directions for future research are discussed.