Growing evidence suggests that basic exposure measures, such as recognition-based items, might not operate identically among older and younger adults. We present two studies relevant to this debate. Study 1 provides experimental confirmation of the recognition decline hypothesis, finding an interaction between age and exposure in predicting recognition memory for an advertisement related to global warming. Study 2 assesses television news project evaluation data to explore whether verbatim detail recognition difficulty explains Study 1 results. The two studies provide complementary evidence, not only illustrating recognition decline among the elderly but also providing careful control of exposure in Study 1 and the use of multiple messages, realistic viewing scenarios, and free recall data in Study 2. Taken together, the studies offer a cautionary tale for campaign evaluators. On a broader theoretical level, the results suggest a fruitful path for communication research focused on the nuanced and potentially critical moderating role of age.
Basil, M.D. ( 1996). The use of student samples in communication research . Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 40, 431-440.
3.
Brainerd, C.J., & Reyna, V.F. ( 2005). The science of false memory. New York : Oxford University Press.
4.
Chayko, M. ( 1993). How you "act your age" when you watch TV. Sociological Forum, 8, 573-593.
5.
Craik, F.I.M. ( 1994). Memory changes in normal aging. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 3, 155-158.
6.
Craik, F.I.M. ( 2006). Brain-behavior relations across the lifespan: A commentary . Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 30, 885-892.
7.
Craik, F.I.M., & McDowd, J.M. (1987). Age differences in recall and recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 13, 474-479.
8.
Davies, P.S. ( 2001/2002). SSI eligibility and participation among the oldest old: Evidence from AHEAD. Social Security Bulletin , 64(3), 38-63.
9.
Depue, J., Gilkerson, N., Duff, B.R.L., Choi, T.C.K., & Southwell, B. ( 2008, August). From the cradle to the grave: A lifespan approach to media effects. Paper presented at Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference, Chicago.
10.
Doyle, J. ( 2007). Picturing the clima(c)tic: Greenpeace and the representational politics of climate change communication. Science as Culture , 16(2), 129-150.
11.
Fisher, R.A. ( 1921). On the "probable error" of a coefficient of correlation deduced from a small sample. Metron, 1, 3-32.
12.
Fox, J.R., Lang, A., Chung, Y., Lee, S., Schwartz, N., & Potter, D. ( 2004). Picture this: Effects of graphics on the processing of television news. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 48, 646-674.
13.
Harwood, J. ( 1997). Viewing age: Lifespan identity and television viewing choices. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 41, 203-214.
14.
Hillsdon, M., Cavill, N., Nanchahal, K., Diamond, A., & White, I.R. ( 2001). National level promotion of physical activity: Results from England’s ACTIVE for LIFE campaign. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 55, 755-761.
15.
Jackson, S.A. ( 1992). Message effects research: Principles of design and analysis . New York: Guildford.
16.
King, J.W., & Suzman, R. ( 2008). Prospects for improving cognition throughout the life course. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(1), i-iii.
17.
Koutstaal, W. ( 2003). Older adults encode-but do not always use-perceptual details: Intentional versus unintentional effects of detail on memory judgments . Psychological Science, 14, 189-193.
18.
Koutstaal, W., & Schacter, D.L. (1997). Gist-based false recognition of pictures in older and younger adults. Journal of Memory and Language, 37, 555-583.
19.
Koutstaal, W., & Schacter, D.L. (2001). Memory distortion and aging . In M. Naveh-Benjamin, M. Moscovitch, & H. L. Roediger, III (Eds.), Perspectives on human memory and cognitive aging: Essays in honour of Fergus Craik (pp. 362-383). Philadelphia : Psychology Press.
20.
Koutstaal, W., Schacter, D.L., Johnson, M.K., Angell, K.E., & Gross, M.S. ( 1998). Post-event review in older and younger adults: Improving memory accessibility of complex everyday events. Psychology and Aging, 13, 277-296.
21.
Law, S., Hawkins, S.A., & Craik, F.I.M. ( 1998). Repetition-induced belief in the elderly: Rehabilitating age-related memory deficits. Journal of Consumer Research , 25, 91-107.
22.
Levine, B., Svoboda, E., Hay, J.F., Winocur, G., & Moscovitch, M. (2002). Aging and autobiographical memory: Dissociating episodic from semantic retrieval. Psychology and Aging, 17, 677-689.
23.
Mares, M.-L. ( 1996). The role of source confusions in television’s cultivation of social reality judgments. Human Communication Research , 23, 278-297.
24.
Mares, M.-L., & Woodard, E.H. ( 2006). In search of the older audience: Adult age differences in television viewing. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 50, 595-614.
25.
Nussbaum, J.F. ( 2007). Life span communication and quality of life. Journal of Communication, 57, 1-7.
26.
Nussbaum, J.F., Pecchioni, L.L., Robinson, J.D., & Thompson, T.L. (2000). Communication and aging (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
27.
Schacter, D.L., Koutstaal, W., & Norman, K.A. ( 1997). False memories and aging. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 1, 229-236.
28.
Singer, D. G., & Singer, J. L. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook of children and the media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
29.
Slater, M.D. ( 2004). Operationalizing and analyzing exposure: The foundation of media effects research. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 81, 168-183.
30.
Southwell, B.G., Barmada, C.H., Hornik, R.C., & Maklan, D.M. ( 2002). Can we measure encoded exposure? Validation evidence from a national campaign. Journal of Health Communication , 7, 445-453.
31.
Southwell, B.G. ( 2005). Between messages and people: A multilevel model of memory for television content. Communication Research, 32, 112-140.
32.
Southwell, B.G., & Langteau, R. ( 2008). Age, memory changes, and the varying utility of recognition as a media effects pathway. Communication Methods and Measures , 2(1-2), 100-114.
33.
Southwell, B.G., & Torres, A. ( 2006). Connecting interpersonal and mass communication: Science news exposure, perceived ability to understand science, and conversation. Communication Monographs, 73, 334-350.
34.
Uggla, Y. ( 2008). Strategies to create risk awareness and legitimacy: The Swedish climate campaign. Journal of Risk Research, 11, 719-734.
35.
White, T., & Wall, R. ( 2008). National, regional and local attitudes towards climate change: Identifying appropriate target audiences for communications. Local Environment, 13, 589-607.
36.
Yancik, R. ( 2005). Population aging and cancer: A cross-national concern . Cancer Journal, 11, 437-441.
