Imagery in the aged.

Two studies were conducted to investigate the use of imagery by subjects of different ages. Experiment 1 was designed to test the effectiveness of "peg-word" system as a memory aid for the elderly. Variables believed to be important in the effectiveness of mnemonic devices were manipulated. The results showed that the mnemonic and imagery instructions were of benefit to the young subjects but not to the older subjects. Age was also found to interact with the concreteness variable, item concreteness having a smaller effect on the oldest subjects. These results suggest that the older subjects were not using imagery mediation effectively. Under the conditions of the second experiment, however, item concreteness had a similar effect across age groups. Tye of instruction was also manipulated in Experiment 2 and only the middle age group improved with imagery instructions. The older age group was not benefited by such instruction.