Learning from mistakes is the thing that applies to kids and seniors as well, revealed a latest research.

A new study conducted at Baycrest, a Toronto-based research centre revealed that seniors learn better from their mistakes. The new research is in contrast of the earlier beliefs that mistakes were a barrier in elderly people’s learning process. This Canadian research studied the relation of Ageing with trial-and-error learning and passive learning and came to conclusion that the former method is more effective in adult learning.

Andree-Ann Cyr, Lead Researcher said, “Making a lot of effort or being very active when you're trying to remember something is better than being passive and just hearing the information”.

The research involved both the young and the old people ageing 20 to 70. The elderly people showed better response to ‘trial and error methods’ when compared with the younger ones. The response of older people was 2.5 times more than the younger ones.

Cyr believes that this maybe because of the reduced memory abilities in the elder people. The mistakes and errors make a big impression on the memory than some random theory.

The study was published in the online edition of Psychology and Aging.