Summary: New research challenges stereotypes about older adults, revealing that they are more willing to take risks than younger individuals and are equally adept at resisting manipulation. Using gambling tasks, researchers found that while older adults initially made more mistakes, they quickly improved with practice, achieving decision-making proficiency comparable to younger participants.
The findings highlight that age-related cognitive changes reflect adaptation rather than decline, emphasizing the importance of providing time and opportunity for older individuals to familiarize themselves with decisions. This study reshapes how society views aging and decision-making, advocating against the infantilization of older adults.
Key Facts:
- Risk-Taking: Older adults are more inclined to take risks than younger adults.
- Resistance to Manipulation: Both age groups effectively resist the attraction effect.
- Learning Capacity: Older adults improve decision-making with practice, matching younger participants.
Source: SWPS University
Older adults are more inclined toward risk-taking than previously believed, and they also demonstrate an inherent ability to resist manipulation effectively, according to a study conducted by SWPS University researchers that challenges prevailing myths about this age group.
Polish society is inevitably aging. According to Statistics Poland (GUS) data, the group of people aged 65 and older increased to 7.5 million in 2023, constituting over 20% of the population. This becomes particularly significant considering that older adults often need to make important financial and health-related decisions.
Previous research on the decision-making abilities of older adults has not yielded consistent conclusions. Some studies portray older adults as risk-averse and susceptible to manipulation , while others suggest the opposite.
The study by SWPS University researchers challenges common beliefs about how aging affects decision-making, particularly in situations involving risk and uncertainty.
It turns out that with some practice and familiarity with the task, older people have the same ability to make complex decisions as younger people, and they should be neither underestimated nor overprotected when making important choices.
“The study challenges dominant stereotypes about aging and decision-making. Too often, older people are portrayed as defenseless and less capable of making correct decisions, which can lead to their infantilisation or exclusion from important choices,” emphasises one of the study authors, Dr. Maciej Kościelniak from the Faculty of Psychology and Law in Poznań at SWPS University, Head of Department of Social and Cross-Cultural Psychology.
Older Adults More Likely to Take Risks
In the paper “Effect of Age on Susceptibility to Attraction Effect in Sequential Risky Decision-Making” published in Ageing and Society, researchers focused on older adults’ susceptibility to the attraction effect, also known in the literature as the decoy effect or asymmetric dominance effect. The scientists also examined how decision-making in risky situations changed with age.
Using specially designed gambling tasks, researchers conducted two experiments: an online study with 357 participants and a laboratory study with 173 participants. Participants were divided into age groups: young adults (18-33 years), middle-aged adults (42-57 years), and older adults (65-80 years). There was no significant difference between groups in terms of years of education.
The findings were surprising: while older adults were significantly more prone to risk-taking than younger people, both age groups were equally capable of resisting manipulation related to the attraction effect.
Slower but Capable of Correcting Errors Based on Experience
Importantly, although– as expected – older adults initially made more mistakes in situations that could have serious financial and social consequences, they successfully learned and improved their decision-making process through practice. It simply took them more time.
By the end of the trial, they performed just as well as younger adults. This suggests that while aging may affect the speed of processing new information, it does not reduce the ability to make good decisions, or defences against manipulation.
“The discovery that learning ability is comparable between older and younger adults has profoundly influenced my view on cognitive functions in the aging process – it’s not simply a story of decline, but rather one of adaptation,” emphasises Maciej Kościelniak.
The researchers’ observations provide insight into the cognitive functioning of older adults and indicate that decision-making ability in late adulthood may be more complex than commonly believed.
These findings have important implications for addressing age-based stereotypes.
“Whether we’re talking about interactions with financial advisors, healthcare workers, or family members helping older people make decisions, our findings suggest that older adults often do not need protection from choices, but rather an opportunity and sufficient time to become familiar with new situations,” says Maciej Kościelniak.
About this aging and risk-taking research news
Author: Marta Danowska-Kisiel
Source: SWPS University
Contact: Marta Danowska-Kisiel – SWPS University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Effect of age on susceptibility to the attraction effect in sequential risky decision-making” by Maciej Kościelniak et al. Ageing and Society
Abstract
Effect of age on susceptibility to the attraction effect in sequential risky decision-making
Our study aims to contribute to the existing body of research on age-related changes in decision-making by investigating susceptibility to the attraction effect across adulthood.
Prior studies have produced inconsistent conclusions regarding the decision-making abilities of older individuals, with some portraying them as easily manipulated and risk-averse, while others suggest the opposite.
To address this issue, we conducted two experiments using a novel paradigm of the roulette task: (1) in an online environment with 357 participants and (2) in a laboratory setting with 173 participants. The results were consistent and demonstrated the robustness of the attraction effect.
However, no age differences in susceptibility to the attraction effect as a common decision bias were found.
As predicted, older adults were more likely to commit simple decision-making mistakes, especially in the preliminary trials, which could have serious financial or societal consequences. Additionally, older adults exhibited more risk-seeking behaviours.
Furthermore, we observed that the dynamics of decision competence (as indicated by a decrease in the selection of erroneous decoy options and an increase in decision fluency) were similar for both younger and older adults, suggesting preservation of the ability to optimise decision-making while becoming familiar with new tasks.
These findings provide insight into the cognitive functioning of older adults and indicate that decision-making abilities in late adulthood may be more complex than commonly assumed.
