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Risk preferences and aging: the "certainty effect" in older adults' decision making.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Mather, M; Mazar, N; Gorlick, MA; Lighthall, NR; Burgeno, J; Schoeke, A; Ariely, D
Published in: Psychology and aging
December 2012

A prevalent stereotype is that people become less risk taking and more cautious as they get older. However, in laboratory studies, findings are mixed and often reveal no age differences. In the current series of experiments, we examined whether age differences in risk seeking are more likely to emerge when choices include a certain option (a sure gain or a sure loss). In four experiments, we found that age differences in risk preferences only emerged when participants were offered a choice between a risky and a certain gamble but not when offered two risky gambles. In particular, Experiments 1 and 2 included only gambles about potential gains. Here, compared with younger adults, older adults preferred a certain gain over a chance to win a larger gain and thus, exhibited more risk aversion in the domain of gains. But in Experiments 3 and 4, when offered the chance to take a small sure loss rather than risking a larger loss, older adults exhibited more risk seeking in the domain of losses than younger adults. Both their greater preference for sure gains and greater avoidance of sure losses suggest that older adults weigh certainty more heavily than younger adults. Experiment 4 also indicates that older adults focus more on positive emotions than younger adults do when considering their options, and that this emotional shift can at least partially account for age differences in how much people are swayed by certainty in their choices.

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Published In

Psychology and aging

DOI

EISSN

1939-1498

ISSN

0882-7974

Publication Date

December 2012

Volume

27

Issue

4

Start / End Page

801 / 816

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Uncertainty
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Risk-Taking
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Decision Making
  • Choice Behavior
 

Citation

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MLA
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Mather, M., Mazar, N., Gorlick, M. A., Lighthall, N. R., Burgeno, J., Schoeke, A., & Ariely, D. (2012). Risk preferences and aging: the "certainty effect" in older adults' decision making. Psychology and Aging, 27(4), 801–816. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030174
Mather, Mara, Nina Mazar, Marissa A. Gorlick, Nichole R. Lighthall, Jessica Burgeno, Andrej Schoeke, and Dan Ariely. “Risk preferences and aging: the "certainty effect" in older adults' decision making.Psychology and Aging 27, no. 4 (December 2012): 801–16. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030174.
Mather M, Mazar N, Gorlick MA, Lighthall NR, Burgeno J, Schoeke A, et al. Risk preferences and aging: the "certainty effect" in older adults' decision making. Psychology and aging. 2012 Dec;27(4):801–16.
Mather, Mara, et al. “Risk preferences and aging: the "certainty effect" in older adults' decision making.Psychology and Aging, vol. 27, no. 4, Dec. 2012, pp. 801–16. Epmc, doi:10.1037/a0030174.
Mather M, Mazar N, Gorlick MA, Lighthall NR, Burgeno J, Schoeke A, Ariely D. Risk preferences and aging: the "certainty effect" in older adults' decision making. Psychology and aging. 2012 Dec;27(4):801–816.

Published In

Psychology and aging

DOI

EISSN

1939-1498

ISSN

0882-7974

Publication Date

December 2012

Volume

27

Issue

4

Start / End Page

801 / 816

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Uncertainty
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Risk-Taking
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Decision Making
  • Choice Behavior