Cognitive interventions to improve face-name recall: The role of personality trait differences.

To explore the relationship of personality trait differences to the ability of older adults to benefit from an intervention to improve face-name recall, 3 previously validated methods of intervention were used in conjunction with the NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1985b). Subjects were 156 community-dwelling elderly. The three treatment conditions all included a standard imagery mnemonic for remembering names and faces but differed in the method of nonmnemonic training (imagery, relaxation, and imagery + judgement) administered before teaching the mnemonic device.