Abstract: Using free recall of words and free recall of charaeters, and associa- tion learning as three experimental tasks, categorizing rehearsal method, association method and association making method were applied to these tasks respectively to conduct memory training research. Subjects were 60 elderly (mean age: 66.5 years old) and 40 younger adults (mean age: 26.8 years old). Both were divided into a training group and a control group, according to the performances of pretest, age and educational le- vel of Ss. The results were as follows: 1. The memory performances of the elderly group were significantly poorer than those of the younger group. 2. After training, the memory performances of both training groups improved obviously. 3. The elderly training group performed as well in the post-test as the younger group did in the pre-test, and the differences decreased as compared with the younger group. 4. The subjects used memory strategies increased significantly both in the elderly and in the young, however, the good user were still less in the former group. The subjects' performances were highly correlated with whether they used suitable memory strategies or not. 5. Not looking for strategy actively is an important phenomenon of the encoding defect of information in the elderly, this defect can be im- proved through training. Encoding defect might only be one of the reas- ons in memory inefficiency of the elderly.

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