Compensatory mechanisms in decision making by old adults

Abstract

Experiment 1 demonstrated that old adults used probability and payoff in hypothetical decisions taken from real-life situations. Employing a more controlled decision-making task, Experiments 2 to 6 examined how allocation of time and information selectivity in decision-making by old adults were affected by variations in cognitive demands. Experiment 2 revealed that old adults allocated more time than young adults under a condition that placed high demands (when outcomes of decisions are known) versus a condition that placed low demands (decision outcomes are unknown). In both conditions the decisions made by the old adults were comparable to young adults' decisions, and were not affected by the outcomes experienced. Experiment 3 examined whether old adults' decisions were affected by decision outcomes that carry probabilistic information different from the one expressed in each trial (i.e. based outcomes: positive and negative). In addition, the experiment examined whether processing these outcomes was accompanied by allocation of more time on the part of the old adults. The data showed that both old and young adults were similarly affected by biased outcomes but the former allocated more time for making their decisions. Varying only payoff information (i.e. approach, avoidance, and control), Experiment 4 showed that both young and old adults made use of payoff information, though the old adults used payoff to a lesser extent. Experiment 5 showed that under increased task demands (i.e. when both probability and payoff were varied), participants from both age groups demonstrated selectivity in ignoring payoff information. Making the payoff information more explicit, Experiment 6 showed that old adults were more selective than young adults.

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