ERIC Number: EJ978192
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Jan
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0012-1649
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Age-Related Changes in Decision Making: Comparing Informed and Noninformed Situations
Van Duijvenvoorde, Anna C. K.; Jansen, Brenda R. J.; Bredman, Joren C.; Huizenga, Hilde M.
Developmental Psychology, v48 n1 p192-203 Jan 2012
Advantageous decision making progressively develops into early adulthood, most specifically in complex and motivationally salient decision situations in which direct feedback on gains and losses is provided (Figner & Weber, 2011). However, the factors that underlie this developmental improvement in decision making are still not well understood. The current study therefore investigates 2 potential factors, long-term memory and working memory, by assigning a large developmental sample (7-29 years of age) to a condition with either high or low demands on long-term and working memory. The first condition featured an age-adapted version of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994; i.e., a noninformed situation), whereas the second condition provided an external store where explicit information on gains, losses, and probabilities per choice option was presented (i.e., an informed situation). Consistent with previous developmental IGT studies, children up to age 12 did not learn to prefer advantageous options in the noninformed condition. In contrast, all age groups learned to prefer the advantageous options in the informed conditions, although a slight developmental increase in advantageous decision making remained. These results indicate that lowering dependence on long-term and working memory improves children's advantageous decision making. The results additionally suggest that other factors, like inhibitory control processes, may play an additional role in the development of advantageous decision making. (Contains 5 figures, 1 table, and 5 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Short Term Memory, Long Term Memory, Decision Making, Probability, Age Differences, Feedback (Response), Task Analysis, Children, Cognitive Development, Inhibition, Comparative Analysis, Risk, Scores, Gender Differences, Mathematics Skills, Ambiguity (Context)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A

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