Age no bar for decision-making: Study

A new study says age does not act as a hindering factor for decision-making.

Washington: According to a new study from North Carolina State University, age does not act as a hindering factor for decision-making.

The study shows that when it comes to making intuitive decisions - using your "gut instincts" - older adults fare as well as their juniors. The researchers tested groups of young adults (aged 17-28) and community-dwelling older adults (aged 60-86) - meaning they live in the community, rather than in a nursing home - to see how they fared when making decisions based on intuitive evaluation. For example, study participants were asked to choose from a list of apartments based on each apartment’s overall positive attributes. Under such conditions, young and older adults were equally adept at making decisions. As per the research, education and the complexity of the decision play important roles in the decision-making. But not every decision can be made that way," said Dr. Thomas Hess, a professor of psychology at NC State and co-author of the study. "Some decisions require more active deliberation. For example, those decisions that require people to distinguish pieces of information that are important from those that are unimportant to the decision at hand," he added. And when it comes to more complex decision-making, older adults face more challenges than their younger counterparts, said Hess. In one portion of the study, participants were given a list of specific criteria to use in selecting an apartment. That list was then taken away, and each participant had to rely on his or her memory to incorporate the criteria into their decision-making. However, there was considerable variation among the older adults who participated in the study - some did very well at the complex decision-making. "Older adults with a higher education did a better job of remembering specific criteria and utilizing them when they made decisions. Ultimately, they made better choices," said lead author Tara Queen, a psychology Ph.D. student at NC State. "This tells us that the effects of age on decision-making are not universal. When it comes to making intuitive decisions, like choosing a dish to order from a menu, young and old are similar. Age differences are more likely to crop up when it comes to complex decision-making, such as choosing a health-care plan based on a complex array of information. But even then, it appears that any negative effects of aging will be more evident in those with lower levels of education," said Hess. The research can be used to change the way we present information to older adults, added Hess. Queen explained that "presenting older adults with overwhelming amounts of information is less beneficial to them. For example, different people have different priorities. Information can be broken down into categories. People could then decide which categories are most important to them, and dig down for additional information as needed." The study is published in the June issue of Psychology and Aging. ANI