Two experiments were conducted to determine factors that facilitate or inhibit the ability of
young and old adults to read and remember information about how to perform skilled procedures. Few age differences were found in the time taken to read texts that provided an explicit
organizationalframework to interpret the material. Further, older adults memory for the central
actions of the procedure were equivalent to those of younger individuals. Older adults memory
for the subordinate details of the texts was somewhat poorer than that of their younger
counterparts. A second study examined age differences in texts that did not provide an organi zational framework with the material. Both reading times and memory levels of the older
individuals were negatively affected in this condition. Findings of these studies indicate that the
ability to read and remember procedural knowledge is impaired by learning conditions more
than by age. Suggestions are made about how to write texts to accommodate the needs of older
readers.
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