Question

Are the skills involved in making judgments and decisions different for older adults?

Answer 1

Research on judgment and decision making across the lifespan has indicated age‐related shifts in the relative influence of affective and deliberative processes. Older age has been associated with declines in deliberative abilities such as working memory , executive functioning and processing speed. Although deliberative abilities tend to decline with age, affective processing may improve. According to research on the affect heuristic, decisions may rely more on affect particularly when deliberation becomes difficult, or affective reactions are strong. Perhaps as a result, emotional cues are more likely to be noticed and remembered by older adults. As compared with younger adults, older adults can also find it difficult to resist the effect of affective cues on judgments. Further, although there is contrasting evidence concerning age differences in performance on risky decisions for the Iowa gambling task, it has been observed that older adults rely more on emotional cues for this task, whereas younger adults' performance is contingent on their deliberative skills.

Additionally, socioemotional selectivity theory posits that older adults become especially motivated to maximize their positive emotional experiences, so as to make the best of the limited time they perceive to have left. Older adults may therefore be more likely to seek and remember positive than negative information. This so‐called positivity effect plays a role in a wide range of older adults' decisions. Older age has also been associated with less neural reactivity to negative stimuli and less negative affect in the face of adverse experiences. Older adults tend to be better than younger adults at avoiding preoccupation with negative thoughts about adverse events, which helps them to maintain better overall emotional well‐being. As a result, older age is potentially associated with experiencing less negative affect, perhaps especially when experiencing adverse outcomes.