Age differences in the effects of contextual framework and word-familiarity on episodic memory

The effect of contextual framework on episodic memory for words was investigated by asking young and older adults either to study a list of words for intentional recall, or to place the words into a story context, with subsequent incidental recall. The story context orienting task was no more beneficial for recall than the study task, and this was true for both young and old. Providing the story at both encoding and retrieval, however, was beneficial, but equally so for both age groups. Pre-experimental familiarity with word items in terms of cohort relevance was an important determinant of recall for both age groups.