Decisional strategy determines whether frame influences treatment preferences for medical decisions.

Decision makers are influenced by the frame of information such that preferences vary depending on whether survival or mortality data are presented. Research is inconsistent as to whether and how age impacts framing effects. This paper presents two studies that used qualitative analyses of think-aloud protocols to understand how the type of information used in the decision making process varies by frame and age. In Study 1, 40 older adults, age 65 to 89, and 40 younger adults, age 18 to 24, responded to a hypothetical lung cancer scenario in a within-subject design. Participants received both a survival and mortality frame. Qualitative analyses revealed that two main decisional strategies were used by all participants: one strategy reflected a data-driven decisional process, whereas the other reflected an experience-driven process. Age predicted decisional strategy, with older adults less likely to use a data-driven strategy. Frame interacted with strategy to predict treatment choice; only those using a data-driven strategy demonstrated framing effects. In Study 2, 61 older adults, age 65 to 98, and 63 younger adults, age 18 to 30, responded to the same scenarios as in Study 1 in a between-subject design. The results of Study 1 were replicated, with age significantly predicting decisional strategy and frame interacting with strategy to predict treatment choice. Findings suggest that framing effects may be more related to decisional strategy than to age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in the effects of conscious and unconscious thought in decision making.

The roles of unconscious and conscious thought in decision making were investigated to examine both (a) boundary conditions associated with the efficacy of each type of thought and (b) age differences in intuitive versus deliberative thought. Participants were presented with 2 decision tasks, one requiring active deliberation and the other intuitive processing. Young and older adults then engaged in conscious or unconscious thought processing before making a decision. A manipulation check revealed that young adults were more accurate in their representations of the decision material than older adults, which accounted for much of the age-related variation in performance when the full sample was considered. When only accurate participants were considered, decision making was best when there was congruence between the nature of the information and the thought condition. Thus, unconscious thought was more appropriate when participants relied on intuitive rather than deliberative processing to make their decision, whereas the converse was true with conscious thought. Although older adults displayed somewhat less efficient deliberative processing, their ability to process information at the intuitive level was relatively preserved. Additionally, both young and older adults displayed choice-supportive memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing speed and memory mediate age-related differences in decision making.

Decision making under risk changes with age. Increases in risk aversion with age have been most commonly characterized, although older adults may be risk seeking in some decision contexts. An important, and unanswered, question is whether these changes in decision making reflect a direct effect of aging or, alternatively, an indirect effect caused by age-related changes in specific cognitive processes. In the current study, older adults (M = 71 years) and younger adults (M = 24 years) completed a battery of tests of cognitive capacities and decision-making preferences. The results indicated systematic effects of age upon decision quality—with both increased risk seeking and increased risk aversion observed in different tasks—consistent with prior studies. Path analyses, however, revealed that age-related effects were mediated by individual differences in processing speed and memory. When those variables were included in the model, age was no longer a significant predictor of decision quality. The authors conclude that the reduction in decision quality and associated changes in risk preferences commonly ascribed to aging are instead mediated by age-related changes in underlying cognitive capacities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors affecting employment decisions about older workers.

Investigated effects of 2 factors on simulated employment decisions about older workers. 10 male and 38 female undergraduates made decisions about older workers in 2 hypothetical work situations. The design of the study was a 2 (absolute decision vs comparison decision)?×?2 (information vs no information) factorial with repeated measures on type of decision. Significant main effects were found for both type of decision and amount of information. No significant interaction effects were found. Increasingly favorable decisions were made about older workers when (a) the situation did not require a choice between an older worker and a younger worker and (b) behaviorally stated performance information about the older worker was provided. A separate study assessed the specificity of the factors' impact on older workers. 13 male and 35 female undergraduates made decisions about younger workers, using the same procedures used in the 1st study. These results indicate that, for younger workers, the effect of the type of decision depended on the amount of information. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of expertise and task factors on age differences in pilot communication.

The influence of expertise and task factors on age differences in a simulated pilot–Air Traffic Control (ATC) communication task was examined. Young, middle-aged, and older pilots and nonpilots listened to ATC messages that described a route through an airspace, during which they referred to a chart of this airspace. Participants read back each message and then answered a probe question about the route. It was found that pilots read back messages more accurately than nonpilots, and younger participants were more accurate than older participants. Age differences were not reduced for pilots. Pilots and younger participants also answered probes more accurately, suggesting that they were better able to interpret the ATC messages in terms of the chart in order to create a situation model of the flight. The findings suggest that expertise benefits occur for adults of all ages. High levels of flying experience among older pilots (as compared with younger pilots) helped to buffer age-related declines in cognitive resources, thus providing evidence for the mediating effects of experience on age differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer Influence on Risk Taking, Risk Preference, and Risky Decision Making in Adolescence and Adulthood: An Experimental Study.

In this study, 306 individuals in 3 age groups--adolescents (13-16), youths (18-22), and adults (24 and older)--completed 2 questionnaire measures assessing risk preference and risky decision making, and 1 behavioral task measuring risk taking. Participants in each age group were randomly assigned to complete the measures either alone or with 2 same-aged peers. Analyses indicated that (a) risk taking and risky decision making decreased with age; (b) participants took more risks, focused more on the benefits than the costs of risky behavior, and made riskier decisions when in peer groups than alone; and (c) peer effects on risk taking and risky decision making were stronger among adolescents and youths than adults. These findings support the idea that adolescents are more inclined toward risky behavior and risky decision making than are adults and that peer influence plays an important role in explaining risky behavior during adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual expectations for group decision processes: Evidence for overestimation of majority influence.

Individuals experience numerous group decision situations during their lives. As a result, they may develop accurate expectations of the social processes and effects of context on group decision situations. Four decision-making situations were constructed that were expected to elicit different group decision processes. Individuals were presented with these hypothetical scenarios in which group size and the preferences of group members varied systematically. Participants’ expectations were elicited from their predictions regarding which alternative the group would choose on the basis of the information presented. The comparison of these judgments with the predicted decision distributions derived from models of group decision making showed that participants had a general sensitivity to changes in contexts, but that they overestimated the effect of the majority opinion on the final decisions. Individuals may have general notions of how groups make decisions but are less sensitive to the subtleties involved in the process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Following your heart or your head: Focusing on emotions versus information differentially influences the decisions of younger and older adults.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 16(2) of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied (see record 2010-12508-005). The wrong author order was listed. The correct order is presented in the erratum.] Research on aging has indicated that whereas deliberative cognitive processes decline with age, emotional processes are relatively spared. To examine the implications of these divergent trajectories in the context of health care choices, we investigated whether instructional manipulations emphasizing a focus on feelings or details would have differential effects on decision quality among younger and older adults. We presented 60 younger and 60 older adults with health care choices that required them to hold in mind and consider multiple pieces of information. Instructional manipulations in the emotion-focus condition asked participants to focus on their emotional reactions to the options, report their feelings about the options, and then make a choice. In the information-focus condition, participants were instructed to focus on the specific attributes, report the details about the options, and then make a choice. In a control condition, no directives were given. Manipulation checks indicated that the instructions were successful in eliciting different modes of processing. Decision quality data indicate that younger adults performed better in the information-focus than in the control condition whereas older adults performed better in the emotion-focus and control conditions than in the information-focus condition. Findings support and extend extant theorizing on aging and decision making as well as suggest that interventions to improve decision-making quality should take the age of the decision maker into account. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of aging on the speed–accuracy compromise: Boundary optimality in the diffusion model.

We evaluated age-related differences in the optimality of decision boundary settings in a diffusion model analysis. In the model, the width of the decision boundary represents the amount of evidence that must accumulate in favor of a response alternative before a decision is made. Wide boundaries lead to slow but accurate responding, and narrow boundaries lead to fast but inaccurate responding. There is a single value of boundary separation that produces the most correct answers in a given period of time, and we refer to this value as the reward rate optimal boundary (RROB). We consistently found across a variety of decision tasks that older adults used boundaries that were much wider than the RROB value. Young adults used boundaries that were closer to the RROB value, although age differences in optimality were smaller with instructions emphasizing speed than with instructions emphasizing accuracy. Young adults adjusted their boundary settings to more closely approach the RROB value when they were provided with accuracy feedback and extensive practice. Older participants showed no evidence of making boundary adjustments in response to feedback or task practice, and they consistently used boundary separation values that produced accuracy levels that were near asymptote. Our results suggest that young adults attempt to balance speed and accuracy to achieve the most correct answers per unit time, whereas older adultts attempt to minimize errors even if they must respond quite slowly to do so. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construction Congestion Cost (CO3) Traffic Impact and Construction Cost

The Construction Congestion Cost System (CO3) is an integrated set of tools to estimate impact of traffic maintenance contract provisions on congestion, road user cost, and construction cost. Engineers use CO3 to produce realistic budgets and select practical contracting methods that provide an acceptable balance between construction cost and congestion. This paper demonstrates computation of impacts associated with alternative methods of maintaining traffic during construction. The Routes Sheet computes equivalent average vehicle routes for complex diversion routes. The Input Sheet provides for documentation of vehicle and route inputs and computes user cost for individual trips through the work zone, diversions, and cancellations. The Traffic Sheet computes daily traffic impacts and user costs for each construction method. The Construction Sheet computes impact of different construction methods on construction costs. The Impact Sheet summarizes daily impacts and computes total project traffic impacts, road user costs, and construction costs for all alternatives. These tools provide practical information with which engineers select construction methods whose impacts are acceptable.     

Correction to Mikels et al. (2010).

Reports an error in "Following your heart or your head: Focusing on emotions versus information differentially influences the decisions of younger and older adults" by Joseph A. Mikels, Corinna E. L?ckenhoff, Sam J. Maglio, Laura L. Carstensen, Mary K. Goldstein and Alan Garber (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 2010[Mar], Vol 16[1], 87-95). The wrong author order was listed. The correct order is presented in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2010-06152-007.) Research on aging has indicated that whereas deliberative cognitive processes decline with age, emotional processes are relatively spared. To examine the implications of these divergent trajectories in the context of health care choices, we investigated whether instructional manipulations emphasizing a focus on feelings or details would have differential effects on decision quality among younger and older adults. We presented 60 younger and 60 older adults with health care choices that required them to hold in mind and consider multiple pieces of information. Instructional manipulations in the emotion-focus condition asked participants to focus on their emotional reactions to the options, report their feelings about the options, and then make a choice. In the information-focus condition, participants were instructed to focus on the specific attributes, report the details about the options, and then make a choice. In a control condition, no directives were given. Manipulation checks indicated that the instructions were successful in eliciting different modes of processing. Decision quality data indicate that younger adults performed better in the information-focus than in the control condition whereas older adults performed better in the emotion-focus and control conditions than in the information-focus condition. Findings support and extend extant theorizing on aging and decision making as well as suggest that interventions to improve decision-making quality should take the age of the decision maker into account. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How self-affirmation reduces defensive processing of threatening health information: Evidence at the implicit level.

Objective: Self-affirmation reduces defensive responses to threatening health information, but little is known about the cognitive processes instigated by self-affirmation. This study tested whether self-affirmation increases responsiveness to threatening health information at the implicit level. Design: In an experimental study (N = 84), the authors presented high- (coffee drinkers) and low-relevance (noncoffee drinkers) participants with threatening health information linking caffeine consumption to health problems. Prior to reading this information, the authors manipulated self-affirmation. Main Outcome Measures: Participants completed an unobtrusive lexical decision task to measure the accessibility of threat-related cognitions and reported their perceptions of message quality and intentions to take precautions. Results: Among high-relevance participants, self-affirmation increased the accessibility of threat-related cognitions, increased perceptions of message quality, and promoted adaptive behavioral intentions. Conclusion: The findings suggest that self-affirmation can increase implicit responsiveness to threatening health information among a target audience, that is, people for whom the health information is highly relevant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Speed of information processing as a mediator between age and free-recall performance.

A combined experimental and individual differences approach was used to investigate the mediating role of task-specific and task-independent speed of information processing measures in the relationship between age and free-recall performance. 36 younger adults (mean age 21 yrs) and 36 older adults (mean age 73 yrs) participated. Participants were required to encode 3 lists of words for immediate recall, by rehearsing the words aloud, once, twice, and 3 times. Participants' speed of information processing was assessed by 3 measures: rehearsal time, articulation speed, and scores on the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). Working memory was also assessed by a backward word-span measure. As predicted, younger adults recalled more words after rehearsing words 3 times rather than once, whereas older adults' recall did not increase with increasing numbers of rehearsals. Younger adults were faster on all speed-of-processing measures and had higher backward word span than did older adults. Task-independent speed of processing, measured by DSST scores and articulation speed, mediated the relationship between age and free recall. Scores on the DSST appear to reflect a fundamental difference between younger and older adults that influences recall performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult age differences in the effects of sentence context and stimulus degradation during visual word recognition.

I investigated adult age differences in the efficiency of feature-extraction processes during visual word recognition. Participants were 24 young adults (M age?=?21.0 years) and 24 older adults (M age?=?66.5 years). On each trial, subjects made a word/nonword discrimination (i.e., lexical decision) regarding a target letter-string that was presented as the final item of a sentence context. The target was presented either intact or degraded visually (by the presence of asterisks between adjacent letters). Age differences in lexical decision speed were greater for degraded targets than for intact targets, suggesting an age-related slowing in the extraction of feature-level information. For degraded word targets, however, the amount of performance benefit provided by the sentence context was greater for older adults than for young adults. It thus appears that an age-related deficiency at an early stage of word recognition is accompanied by an increased contribution from semantic context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temporal discounting in choice between delayed rewards: The role of age and income.

This study examined the effects of age and income on temporal discounting (i.e., the decrease in the subjective value of a reward as the delay to its receipt increases). The value of delayed hypothetical monetary rewards was discounted at similar rates by adults of different ages but similar income levels, but at different rates by adults of similar age but different income levels. Specifically, lower income older adults showed a greater degree of temporal discounting than did either upper income older adults or upper income younger adults, but there were no age differences in discounting between the upper income groups. Comparison of these findings with those of a previous study (Green, Fry, & Myerson, 1994) suggests that impulsivity in decision making declines rapidly in young adulthood, reaching stable levels in the 30s. Further, age and income appear to interact in determining the impulsivity of decision making by adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A speed-accuracy analysis of word recognition in young and older adults.

To measure age differences in the rate of semantic priming, studies vary the prime-target interval in lexical decision (LD) tasks. This provides no time limit on the target response. Thus, older adults' greater response times (RTs) could offer them more accumulated priming at the response compared with younger, faster adults. This study used a response deadline procedure in an LD task to equalize processing time across age groups. Although RTs did not significantly differ across age groups, older adults showed larger semantic priming effects than young adults. Semantic priming was also found with response accuracy (d'), but did not differ across age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discourse comprehension and problem solving: Decisions about the treatment of breast cancer by women across the life span.

The 1st study examined the decision making and prose comprehension of 94 women interacting with an authentic, unfolding health scenario about breast cancer. The 2nd study involved questionnaire data focusing on the decisions made by 75 women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Two major findings emerged from this laboratory and survey research. First, older women sought less information when making treatment decisions about breast cancer. However, the outcome of those decisions were equivalent to those of younger women. Second, older women made these decisions faster than younger women. In addition, treatment decisions were related to prose processing, the type of information underlined as important while reading as well as the type of information remembered about various treatment options. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of missing application-blank information on personnel selection decisions: Do privacy protection strategies bias the outcome?

Using a 3?×?2?×?2 experimental design and data from 188 managers and professionals, this study examined the main and interactive effects of information management strategy (missing information vs. no reported conviction vs. reported conviction), race of the applicant (White vs. Black), and job type (cashier vs. road laborer) on ratings of an applicant's qualifications and likelihood of job success. For the qualification criterion, there were significant main effects for information management strategy and job type. In the case of the success criterion, there were significant main effects for information management strategy and job type and two significant two-way interactions. Constraints on the generalizability of the findings to personnel decision making in actual organizational contexts are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Handwriting performance in younger and older adults: Age, familiarity, and practice effects.

The main goals of 2 experiments on the aging of handwriting skills were to investigate (1) age differences in speed of handwriting performance, (2) effects of task familiarity on age differences in performance, and (3) effects of practice on age differences in performance. Younger adults performed reliably faster than older adults on all tasks. An Age?×?Familiarity interaction in both experiments indicated that age differences were magnified for unfamiliar but attenuated for familiar tasks. In the 2nd experiment, an Age?×?Trial interaction revealed that older adults improved at a faster rate than younger adults. Regressions with initial trial data indicated that the older were slower than the younger adults by a factor of about 1.6. With practice, however, this slowing factor was only 1.02. Results suggest that familiarity and practice play a role in speed of handwriting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowledge-Enabled Decision Support System for Routing Urban Utilities

This paper presents a Web-based system for supporting the selection of the most suitable routes for buried urban utilities. The aim of the proposed system is to support (not make) decisions through a collaborative semiautomated environment, in which stakeholders can share information and/or study the impacts of different routing alternatives with respect to decision constraints. First, the knowledge relating to route selection for urban utilities is represented through an ontology. The ontology defines the types and attributes of infrastructure products and the surrounding areas. It also defines the impacts of routing options on surrounding areas through a set of decision criteria adopted to evaluate the effectiveness of any route in terms of its potential impacts. A set of constraints are also defined to help represent/study the decision criteria. Second, a GIS-based system has been created to help visualize route data, interact with users, and support the needed discussions among stakeholders. The portal also achieves data interoperability through wrapping existing geospatial data with ontology structures. Finally, a set of reasoners have been created to help quantify/augment some of the constraints. The system is capable of (1)?extracting the attributes of each routing option, (2)?testing the interaction/conflicts between route attributes and the constraints of the surrounding area, (3)?studying the impacts of a route as stipulated in the ontology, (4)?referring users to existing best practices to help enhance routes or address conflicts and, when needed, (5)?develop objective measures for comparing different routes. On the microlevel (street level), route options are evaluated through a “constraint-satisfaction” approach. On the macrolevel (city level), route options are evaluated through a fuzzy inference scoring system. The proposed system focuses on facility life cycle, sustainability, and community impacts. Construction costing, scheduling, labor, and equipment along with other management issues can either be added to the system or, better, analyzed through integrating the system with four-dimensional (4D) modeling tools.