Attitude change in older age: an experimental study.

The role of age in the attitude change process was experimentally studied by exposing older (Mean age: 77.5 years) and younger (Mean age: 19.7 years) women to persuasive information presented at different speeds. In general, the higher speed levels which were employed to decrease information reception resulted in less attitude change, but no overall age differences in the amount of attitude change were observed. In fact, the older women changed their attitudes somewhat more than the younger ones in the normal speed condition. Two mediating processes--positive evaluation and information reception--seemed to counteract each other in producing attitude change in the two age groups: the older women reacted more positively toward the presentation than the younger women, but they understood less of the presented information.