Decision-Making Ability Declines with Age

(Ivanhoe Newswire) – As people age, they become less-risky in their decision-making, according to research from Yale University.
Researchers studied the decision-making of 135 participants, ranging from ages 12 to 90. The study used two trials for each participant, one gain trial and one loss trial. The researchers found compared to younger participants, older adults made decisions that resulted in the lowest possible gains. They also found older adults showed greater risk when choosing between losses.
"It is often assumed that decision-makers at any age have both the right and ability to make their own choices that maximizes their welfare, but our data suggest that this one-size-fits-all approach may be wrong for models that target broad populations,” study lead Ifat Levy, assistant professor in comparative medicine and neurobiology at Yale, was quoted as saying.
For more information, go to: http://news.yale.edu/2013/09/30/increased-age-comes-decreased-risk-taking-decision-making
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, October 2013