Rote and gist memory in relation to type of information, sensory mode, and age

This study compared groups aged 20 to 29, 60 to 69, and 70 to 79 years. In Part 1, the comparison was of recall of meaningful prose content items classified as either more amenable to gist recall or more amenable to rote recall. The youngest group demonstrated the best recall for both types of items. The recall itself was classified as gist or rote. The age groups were similar in gist but not rote recall. In Part 2, the age comparisons were in relation to prose paragraphs and word lists. The young group performed best with both types. Visual displays permitting review were better for recall than visual displays or auditory input permitting less or no review. Part 3 examined study time. Those in their 60s took less time than their other two age groups did; their recall performances were no worse than those in their 70s, but they recalled less than the younger subjects did.