A study investigated whether older persons as a group are generally more persuaded by high authority figures than are younger persons. The study employed a design that allowed for extensive comparisons among subjects of different ages in terms of their willingness to be persuaded by physicians in interpersonal situations. One hundred-twenty subjects responded to a ten-page questionnaire that, among other things, requested information about age, sex, education completed, living location, religious affiliation and degree of involvement, and size of household. Four different transcripts of hypothetical interpersonal persuasive statements were constructed to represent different combinations of speaker knowledge and trustworthiness. The transcripts provided basic background information and featured a physician who sought to persuade the listener in the story to purchase a particular brand of aspirin. After reading the transcript, each subject responded to a series of questions about the physician's message--particularly about its persuasiveness. Results showed that older persons were more likely to adopt new behaviors when highly credible sources told them to do so than were younger persons. Since educational background was not found to be a deciding difference, age appeared to be a primary determinant. (HOD)