Age differences in memory for radio advertisements: the role of mnemonics

This study examines age differences in memory for radio advertisements. You nger and older adults listened to a bogus radio program. Half of each age c ategory listened to a version of the program embedded with two ads utilizin g a simple rhyming mnemonic device. The other half of each age category lis tened to the same program, but with ads without any rhyming mnemonics. Vari ous measures of recall and recognition of the target ads were taken both im mediately after exposure and after a 7-day delay. While no age differences in memory emerged, mnemonic versions of the ads resulted in better scores f or overall unaided memory, prompted brand recall, and overall memory for bo th age groups. There were no differences in memory scores over the 7-day de lay, nor were there any interaction effects. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.