Cognition, Persuasion and Decision Making in Older Consumers

Older adults constitute a rapidly growing demographic segment, but relatively little is known about them within consumer contexts: how they process information, respond to persuasive messages, and make decisions. We discuss extant findings from consumer behavior and related disciplines (e.g., cognitive psychology, neuroscience, social psychology, gerontology) as they pertain to the effects of aging on consumer memory, persuasion and decision ∗ Corresponding author. † The first two authors co-chaired the workshop at the Choice Symposium and made major and equal contributions to this article. The remaining authors were participants in the workshop. They also contributed to this article and are listed in alphabetical order. We wish to thank the editor and Cathy Cole for their helpful comments on the paper. The article, including a more complete list of references, was shortened to meet the page-length constraints of the special issue. The longer version is available upon request from the senior authors. 430 YOON ET AL. making. We also identify areas for future research, particularly those with the potential to generate insights that will enhance functioning for older consumers