Health appeal appraisal and memory in older adults: the effects of goal and valence framing

Relative to younger adults, older adults have a preference and memory advantage for appeals framed to focus on emotion goals (e.g., loving or caring) or positive outcomes (e.g., benefits of health behaviors). Here we examined whether combining goal (emotion vs. future) and valence framing (positive vs. negative) could optimize older adults' appraisal and memory for health appeals. Sixty younger (ages 18-29) and 60 older (ages 64-87) adults viewed, rated and recalled one of the four versions of a health pamphlet, each with a unique combination of goal and valence framing. The results showed a memory advantage for pamphlets focusing on emotion over future goals in both age groups. Older adults also showed a more favorable appraisal and a weak memory advantage for the positively- and emotion-framed pamphlet, relative to younger adults. Thus combining goal and valence framing could optimize the effectiveness of older adults' health appeal communication..