Aging and Vulnerabilities in Consumer Information Processing

Abstract

This chapter reviews research on age-related differences in how consumers process information. Specifically, it discusses many of the effects of aging on the quality and quantity of consumers' sensory, cognitive, and emotional functioning. Some studies suggest that the manner in which elderly (age 65 and over) consumers process information may render them more vulnerable than young and middle-aged consumers to malign persuasion attempts. This chapter reveals that age has selective effects on information processing such that elderly consumers are sometimes more susceptible to marketing influence and sometimes they are less susceptible.

Citation

Drolet, A., Bergstrom, T. and Brody, I. (2024), "Aging and Vulnerabilities in Consumer Information Processing", Lee, A.Y. (Ed.) The Vulnerable Consumer (Review of Marketing Research, Vol. 21), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 7-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1548-643520240000021002