Research topic: The aging decision maker
The 21st century may become known as the century of centenarians: Most babies born since 2000 in countries with long life expectancies, such as Germany and France, will likely live to be 100. Increasing life expectancy, as well as low fertility and little immigration, are leading to aging populations in such countries and forcing people to work longer and make important decisions about retirement, wealth, and health very late in their lives. But are cognitive limitations inevitable in old age? How does age-related cognitive decline impact cognition and individuals’ decision-making abilities?
Current research suggests that age-related decline in cognitive abilities such as working-memory can lead older adults to search fewer pieces of information and rely on simpler strategies to make decisions. Fortunately, the structure of some natural environments may allow simple strategies to provide satisfying outcomes. For example, a simple strategy may lead to only slightly poorer choices compared to more cognitively demanding strategies when deciding between real-world consumer products such as fridges or dishwashers.
The “aging decision maker” line of research aims to further study these issues so as to understand and aid the aging decision maker. In particular, we aim to identify situations that require intervention to ensure successful decision-making by the elderly. For example, this line of work may provide insight into when or whether cognitive interventions designed to boost cognitive abilities can be expected to improve decisions. Likewise, this line of research may suggest how to redesign decision environments that prove especially problematic for the aging decision maker.
Key investigator: Rui Mata & Thorsten Pachur
Key references:
- Mata, R., von Helversen, B., & Rieskamp, J. (2010). Learning to choose: Cognitive aging and strategy selection learning in decision making. Psychology and Aging, 25, 299-309. doi:10.1037/a0018923 PDF
- Mata, R., & Nunes, L. (2010). When less is enough: Cognitive aging, information search, and decision quality in consumer choice. Psychology and Aging, 25, 289-298. doi:10.1037/a0017927 PDF
- Pachur, T., Mata, R., & Schooler, L. (2009). Cognitive aging and the adaptive use of recognition in decision making. Psychology and Aging, 24, 901-905.doi:10.1037/a0017211 PDF
- Mata, R., Schooler, L. & Rieskamp, J. (2007). The aging decision maker: Cognitive aging and the adaptive selection of decision strategies. Psychology and Aging, 22, 796-810. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.22.4.796 PDF
