Effects of Age and Initial Risk Perception on Balloon Analog ...

Balloon Analog Risk Task. To measure risky behavior, a version of the BART (Lejuez et al., 2002) programmed in Java Script language (interface ... ThisarticleispartoftheResearchTopic Theagingdecision-maker:Advancesinunderstandingtheimpactofcognitivechangeondecision-making Viewall 8 Articles Articles EmmaV.Ward MiddlesexUniversity,UnitedKingdom ThomasHess NorthCarolinaStateUniversity,UnitedStates LoreenMamerow UniversityofBasel,Switzerland Theeditorandreviewers'affiliationsarethelatestprovidedontheirLoopresearchprofilesandmaynotreflecttheirsituationatthetimeofreview. Abstract Introduction MaterialsandMethods Results Discussion Conclusion AuthorContributions Funding ConflictofInterestStatement Acknowledgment References SuggestaResearchTopic> DownloadArticle DownloadPDF ReadCube EPUB XML(NLM) Supplementary Material Exportcitation EndNote ReferenceManager SimpleTEXTfile BibTex totalviews ViewArticleImpact SuggestaResearchTopic> SHAREON OpenSupplementalData ORIGINALRESEARCHarticle Front.Psychol.,06May2016 |https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00659 EffectsofAgeandInitialRiskPerceptiononBalloonAnalogRiskTask:TheMediatingRoleofProcessingSpeedandNeedforCognitiveClosure MaciejKoscielniak,KlaraRydzewskaandGrzegorzSedek* InterdisciplinaryCenterforAppliedCognitiveStudies,DepartmentofPsychology,SWPSUniversityofSocialSciencesandHumanities,Warsaw,Poland Accordingtothedual-processtheoreticalperspectiveadoptedinthepresentedresearch,theefficiencyofdeliberativeprocessesindecisionmakingdeclineswithage,butexperientialprocessesarerelativelywell-preserved.Theage-relateddifferencesindeliberativeandexperientialprocessesinriskydecision-makingwereexaminedinthisresearchbyapplyingtheBalloonAnalogRiskTask(BART).Weanalyzedtheinfluenceofageonriskacceptanceanddecision-makingperformanceintwoagegroupsoffemaleparticipants(youngeradults,n=81;olderadults,n=76),withadditionalexperimentalmanipulationofinitialriskperception.WepredictedandconfirmedthatagingsignificantlyworsensperformanceonthebehavioralBARTmeasuresduetoage-relateddeclineindeliberativeprocesses.OlderparticipantswerefoundtoexhibitsignificantlyhigherriskaversionandlowerBARTperformance,andtheeffectofagewasmediatedbycognitive(processingspeed)andmotivational(needforcognitiveclosure)mechanisms.Moreover,olderadultsadapttotheinitialfailure(vs.success)similarly,asyoungeradultsduetopreservedefficiencyofexperientialprocesses.Theseresultssuggestfuturedirectionsforminimizingnegativeeffectsofaginginriskydecision-makingandindicatecompensatoryprocesses,whicharepreservedduringaging. Introduction Thecommonunderstandingisthatyoungpeoplearepronetorisktaking,whileolderadultsareusedasexamplesofcautionandriskaversion(Rolisonetal.,2012).However,thosestereotypesdonotfindsupportinnumerousresearchresultsandcorrelationaldata(Droretal.,1998;Chouetal.,2007;Samanez-Larkinetal.,2011).Manydataindicatetheoppositetendency:peopleaged55yearsormoreareactivelymakinginvestmentchoicesthatinvolvelargeamountsofriskacceptance(Brown,2002),andtheyalsooccupythehighest-rankingmanagerialpositionsamongS&P500companies(StatisticBrainResearchInstitute,2015). Someresearchers(Chaubey,1974;Deakinetal.,2004)hypothesizegradualage-relateddeclineinqualityoffunctioningwithinriskanduncertaintyconditions,whichinturnleadstodeficitsindecision-makingefficiency.However,otherpsychologicalscientistsdonotagreewiththisnotionandreportevidencethatnotonlysupportsnodifferencesbetweenthequalityofolderandyoungeradults’choicesinriskanduncertaintyconditions(Droretal.,1998),butalsoclaimsthatthesegroupsarecharacterizedbysimilardecisionstrategieswhenfacedwithriskychoices(Kovalchiketal.,2005;BruinedeBruinetal.,2014). Becausetheissueofagedifferencesinriskychoiceisaverycomplexone,anincreasingamountofresearchisfocusedonspecifyingdecisiontaskcontextsandsettingsthatdeterminewhetherolderadultsseekoravoidrisk(forrecentreviews,seeHenningeretal.,2010;Mataetal.,2011;Cavanaghetal.,2012).Weappliedthedual-processperspectiveofageeffectsondecision-making,recentlyelaboratedbyHess(2015),foracontextualtheoreticalmodel.Classicaldual-processmodels(e.g.,Bargh,1994;Epstein,1994;Kahneman,2003)differentiatethedeliberativeprocesses(effortful,analytical,oftenverbal,andslow)fromtheexperientialprocesses(automatic,associative,oftenaffective,andfast).Thisdistinctionisimportantbecausetheempiricalevidence(forreviews,seePetersetal.,2007;Hess,2015)showsthatindecision-making,deliberativeprocessesareimpairedbyaging,butexperientialprocessesarerelativelywell-preserved.Inthisresearch,weexaminedage-relateddifferencesbetweendeliberativeandexperientialprocessesinriskydecision-makingbyapplyingtheBalloonAnalogRiskTask(BART;Lejuezetal.,2002).Meta-analysisbyMataetal.(2011)indicatesthatriskytaskssuchastheIowaGamblingTask(IGT),theBehavioralInvestmentAllocationStrategy(BIAS),andtheBART,whichinvolvemakingdecisionsfromexperience(i.e.,riskinformationisnotexplicitlypresented;participantsestimateriskinanumberoftrials),showedstrikinglydifferentage-relateddifferences.Morespecifically,intheIGTandBIAS,olderadults,ratherthanyoungerones,weremorerisk-seeking.Incontrast,intheBART,olderadultsweremorerisk-aversethantheiryoungercounterparts. Therefore,theBARTmightbecurrentlyassessedasthe“prototype”taskinwhicholderadultspreferrisk-avoidingstrategies.However,theresearchonage-relateddifferencesintheBARTarescarce,andweidentifiedonlytwostudiesthatdirectlycompareddifferencesbetweenolderandyoungeradults.Theyyieldedonlypartiallyconsistentfindings.TheresearchbyHenningeretal.(2010)demonstratedclearage-relatedimpairmentsinthemainbehavioralmeasures(i.e.,adjustednumberofpumpsandnumberofexplosions)intheBART.However,intheresearchbyRolisonetal.(2012),age-relateddifferencesinbehavioralmeasureswereabsent,butthecognitivemodelingshowedsomesubtledifferences(olderadultsweremorecautious)intheinitialperceptionsofrisk.Obviously,moreresearchisneededtoexaminethemechanismsofage-relateddifferencesintheBART.Thefirstgoalofourresearchwastounderstandhowage-relateddeclineincognitivedeliberativeskill,suchasprocessingspeed,affectsBARTperformance.Thesecondgoalwastoexaminewhetherolderadultsshowarelativepreservationofexperientialprocesses(affectiveresilience,Petersetal.,2007;Hess,2015)andareasadaptiveasyoungeradultsinadjustingtoaseriesofincidentalfailuresintheBART.Inthenextsections,theBARTwillbesuccinctlypresented;wewillthenreviewtheexistingevidenceofage-relateddifferencesindeliberativeandexperientialprocessestopredicttheirrolesintherelationshipbetweenageandBARTperformance. UsingthecomputerizedBART,participantsaretopumpaseriesofvirtualballoons,andwitheachpump,pointsaregained.Participantsdecidewhethertocontinueorstoppumpingandindicatethisbyclickingonabuttononthemonitor.Ifpumpingisterminated,thepointsgainedinthattrialwillbesecurelystoredina“bank.”Pumpingtheballoontoomanytimescarriestheriskoftheballoonexploding,andthepointsgainedinthattrialarelost.However,iftheballoonisnotpumpedenough,theamountofpointsearnedissmall.Therefore,risktakingisrewardedonlytoacertainpoint,andthenitispenalized.Thisisareflectionofnumerousreal-lifesituations. TheBARThasbeenproventohavestrongecologicalvaliditybecauseitisastrongpredictorofreal-liferisktakingbehaviorinanumberofpopulations(Lejuezetal.,2003;Aklinetal.,2005;Hopkoetal.,2006;Bornovalovaetal.,2009),includingolderadults(Henningeretal.,2010;Cavanaghetal.,2012;Rolisonetal.,2012;Seamanetal.,2015).Lejuezetal.(2002)claimedthattheBARTissometimesamorereliablemeasureofrisk-takingbehaviorthanself-reportsanddemographicdata.Accordingtoameta-analysisinvolvingtheBART(Lauriolaetal.,2014),mostpublicationsdemonstratedsignificantcorrelationsbetweentheaverageadjustednumberofpumpsandriskybehaviorsinreallife,suchassmoking,alcoholanddruguse,aggression,participationinunprotectedsex,andgambling. Age-relatedlimitationsindeliberativecognitiveprocessesmightbeplausiblemechanismsofimpairedBARTperformanceamongolderadults.WhenconfrontedwithcomplexriskydecisiontaskssuchastheBART,effectivefunctioningofparticipantsdemandsactivedeliberation,suchascountingandaveragingthenumberofpumpsacrosstrials,suppressingnegativefeelingscausedbyballoonexplosions,andweighingtheprosandconsoffurtherpumping.Hence,therearehighdemandsoncognitiveandattentionalresourceswhenitcomestoeffectiveBARTperformance.Thescientificliterature(Engleetal.,2005;ThorntonandDumke,2005;Salthouse,2006,2012;Sedeketal.,2013),indicatesaclearandmarkedmonotonicdecreaseinbasicfluidcognitiveabilities(suchasprocessingspeed,workingmemorycapacity,andfluidintelligence)fromearlyadulthoodthroughmiddleagetooldage,andthisisresponsiblefordecreasedperformanceinvariouscognitivetasks.TheprocessingspeedtheorydevelopedbySalthouse(1996)andusingtheDigitSymbolSubstitutionTest(DSST)asaprincipalmeasure,accountsforage-relatedchanges,suchasimpairmentinlogicalreasoning(Salthouse,2001;SedekandvonHecker,2004),inmanycognitivetasks.UsingtheBART,Henningeretal.(2010)foundthatolderadultshavegreateraversiontoriskthanyoungeradults,thusthequalityoftheirdecision-makinginthattaskwassignificantlylower.Inaddition,theyshowedthatage-relateddifferencesinBARTperformancearemediatedbyprocessingspeed.However,cognitivespeedwasmeasuredusingtheDigitSymboltest,whichissimilartotheDSSTbuthassomedifferentcharacteristics.Theprocessingspeedtheory(withDSSTasaprincipalmeasure)developedbySalthouse(1996)accountsforage-relateddifferencesinmanycognitivetasks.Accordingtothistheory,slowerspeedofexecutingcognitiveoperationsinolderageimpairsperformanceinmorecomplextasksbecauseoftwomechanisms.Thekeydefiningfeatureofthefirstmechanism(the“timelimited”mechanism)isthattimeconstraintscauseprocessingoftheinitialinformationtobeincompleteanddefective.Thisisincontrasttothesecondmechanism(the“simultaneity”mechanism)inwhichprocessingtheinitialinformationiscompletebutdecaycausesittobecomeunavailableinthelaterstagesofprocessing.Bothcognitivemechanismsmayberesponsibleforage-relateddeclineinBARTperformance.Hence,toreplicateandextendpreviousfindingsabouttheinfluenceofageonBARTperformance(Henningeretal.,2010),theDSSTwasincludedasameasureofprocessingspeed. Anotherwayinwhicholderadultsappeartomanagelowerefficiencyindeliberativecognitiveprocessesisthroughselectiveengagementincognitiveresources.Olderadultsmayconserveresourcesbysimplifyingtheirinteractionswiththeenvironmentandbylimitingboththequantityandcomplexityoftheinformationtowhichtheyattend.Thisdescriptionisbasedontheclassicalframeworkofselection,optimization,andcompensation(SOC;BaltesandBaltes,1990).AccordingtoHess(2000,2014,2015),agingisconnectedwithincreasingcostsofengagementineffortfulcognitiveactivities.Asagingproceeds,moreresourcesarenecessarytoachieveaparticularlevelofperformanceinaneffortfultask.Furthermore,aperceptionofcostsresultsinlackofintrinsicmotivationtocommitresourcestocognitivelydemandingtasks,andthisinturnisreflectedintheselectionprocessesofdirectingandenergizing.WemeasuredcognitivemotivationbyapplyingtheNeedforCognitiveClosureShortScale(NFCC;Kruglanski,2004).Theneedforclosurehasbeendefinedasadesireforadefiniteanswertoaquestionorforanyfirmanswerratherthanuncertainty,confusion,orambiguity(KruglanskiandWebster,1996).AgingusuallyincreasesscoresontheNFCC;however,ageeffectshavevariedsizeeffectandaredivergentforthedifferentsubscales(Blanchard-Fieldsetal.,2001;Cornelisetal.,2009;Kossowskaetal.,2012b).ThemostconsistentageeffectsareobservedfortwoNFCCsubscales:DesireforPredictabilityandPreferenceforOrderandStructure(Blanchard-Fieldsetal.,2001;Czarneketal.,2015).MostpreviousresearchhasdemonstratedthattheNFCCisrelatedtoasimplifiedcognitiveprocessinvolvedindecision-making,alimitedinformationsearch,andapreferenceforclearandunambiguousjudgment(seetherecentreviewinRoetsetal.,2015).Severalauthors(Cornelisetal.,2009;Kossowskaetal.,2012b;Roetsetal.,2015)suggestedtheinterplaybetweenage-relateddeclineindeliberativeprocessesandage-relatedincreaseintheNFCC.Namely,thecomplexityofencounteredtasksinreal-worldsituationsoftenexceedsthecognitiveresourcesofolderadults,andthiscorrespondstotheage-relatedincreaseinsomeoftheNFCCsubscalesmeasuringepistemicmotivation(i.e.,theyaremotivatedtostriveforsimplification,morepredictability,andorder).Ourrecentstudy(Czarneketal.,2015)showedsomesupportforthedoublemediationofageeffectonstereotypicjudgmentsbycognitiveandmotivationalprocesses.Namely,wefoundthat,comparedtoyoungerparticipants,olderadultsweremorelikelytorelyonstereotypicinferenceswhentheyreadastoryaboutout-groupmembers.Inaddition,thefindingsshowedthatmakingmorestereotypicalinferencesbyoldervs.youngeradultsinrelationtoout-groupmemberswasmediatedbycognitive(TrailMakingTest)andmotivational(NFCC)mechanisms.TheimportantresearchquestioniswhethertheinfluenceofagingonsomemeasuresoftheBARTisalsoindependentlydeterminedbyadeclineinmentalspeedandanincreaseintheNFCC. Recentfindings(e.g.,QueenandHess,2010;Hessetal.,2012)andreviews(Petersetal.,2007;HessandEnnis,2014;Hess,2015)showedthatage-relateddifferencesindecisionmakingtasksareeliminatedwhendecisionmakingperformancestronglyreliesonexperiential(e.g.,affective)processes.Interestingly,asubstantialnumberofstudiesontheIGT(Becharaetal.,1994),reflectingtheactivityofaffectivecorticalstructures,didnotdemonstrateage-relateddifferences(e.g.,MacPhersonetal.,2002;Kovalchiketal.,2005;Woodetal.,2005;butseeclearage-relateddifferencesinDenburgetal.,2009).Themostinspiringforuswerethedetailedanalysesofage-relateddifferencesfoundbyWoodetal.(2005).Theyfoundthatyoungeradultsappliedbothdeliberativeandexperientialprocessesinformingtheirchoicesbetweenmore-andless-riskycarddecksintheIGT.However,olderadults’choicebehaviorswereguidedmorebyrecentlossesandgains,suggestinggreateremploymentofexperientialprocesses.ThisstrategywasquiteeffectiveinthisstudybecausebotholderandyoungeradultsperformedsimilarlyintheIGT. InspiredbytheseanalysesoftheIGTbyWoodetal.(2005),wedecidedtoexperimentallymanipulateexperiencedfailuresandsuccessesinpreliminarytrialsoftheBART.Specifically,weprocedurallyincreasedtheparticipant’sinitialfailures(thefirstthreeballoonsinthetaskexplodealmostimmediately,andparticipantshardlyearnanypoints)orinitialsuccesses(thefirstthreeballoonsinthetaskexplodeaftermorethan20pumps,henceparticipantsearnedalotofpoints).AsseenbyWoodandassociates,suchmanipulationshouldbeguidedbyexperientialprocessesandaffectinbothyoungerandolderparticipantssimilarly.Accordingtorecentresearchapplyingadvancedcognitivemodelingtoexplainage-relateddifferencesinBARTperformance(Cavanaghetal.,2012;Rolisonetal.,2012),suchmanipulationshouldinitiallysignificantlydifferentiateadopteddecisionstrategies(morecautiousafterinitialfailures,moreriskyafterinitialsuccesses),butthiseffectshouldbeofshortduration(withincreasedexperience). TheimpactofexperientialprocessesinBARTperformanceisrelatedtothepotentialroleofpositiveemotionsinexplainingage-relateddifferencesindecision-making.Improvedaffectiveexperiencehasbeenfoundtobeassociatedwithaging(Carstensen,2006;CharlesandCarstensen,2010;Sedeketal.,2014).Moreover,studiesshowthataffectinfluencessearchtendenciesandtherefore,decision-making.Asanimportantexample,increasedpositivemoodamongolderadultsleadstolessinformationsearchinsequentialchoicetasks(vonHelversenandMata,2012),therebyworseningperformance.BecausetheBARTisundoubtedlyasequentialdecision-makingtask,wealsoexaminedwhetherpositiveaffectinfluencesBARTperformance. IntheBART,womentendtopumptheballoonsubstantiallylessthanmen(Lejuezetal.,2002).Toeliminatecomplexinteractionsthatmaybeevokedbytheunexpectedinfluenceofparticipants’sex,wedecidedtoconductthisstudyusingagroupofonlywomen,thosecommonlyregardedasmoreriskaversethanmen. Tosuccinctlysummarizeourmainpredictions:(1)AgingsignificantlyworsensperformanceonbehavioralBARTmeasuresbecauseofage-relateddeclineindeliberativeprocesses;(2)Experiencingincidentalfailures(vs.successes)atthebeginningofthetaskaffectsBARTperformance(atleastinthefirstphaseofthetask).However,olderandyoungeradultsshouldadaptsimilarlytothismanipulationbecauseofpreservedefficiencyofexperientialprocesses. MaterialsandMethods Participants One-hundredfifty-eightfemaleparticipantsfromtwospecificagegroupswereinvitedtoparticipateinthestudy.Thegroupofyoungeradultsconsistedof81studentsaged18–23years(M=19.86years;SD=1.00)recruitedfromfirst-andsecond-yearuniversitycoursesinexchangeforpartialcredit.Thegroupofolderadultsincluded77participantsaged65–80years(M=69.19years;SD=4.32)whovolunteeredtoparticipatethrougharecruitmentcompany.ParticipantswhoperformedbestontheBARTreceivedmaterialprizes,namelyoptionalbooksorshoppingvouchersoftheequalnominalvalueof$12. Inclusioncriteriawerepossessionofabasiclevelofcomputerliteracy,allowingforcomfortableandfreeperformanceofthecomputerizedtaskanduseofcorrectivelenses(eithereyeglassesorcontactlenses)whenvisiondefectswarranteditsothateffectsofpoorvisionwereminimized. Informationabouteducationlevelintermsoftheyearsofformaleducationcompletedwasparticipant-provided,andnosignificantdifferenceswerefoundbetweenthegroups.Amongtheolderadults,mean(SD)levelofeducationwas13.43(3.06)years,whereasamongtheyoungeradults,itwas13.59(2.05)years(F<1). Cognitive,Motivational,andAffectiveMeasures MentalspeedwasmeasuredusingtheDSST(Wechsler,1981),aclassicalmeasureofprocessingspeedthatinvolvessubstitutionofdigitswithsymbolsaccordingtoagiventemplatewithinatimelimit. AnadditionalmeasureoftheabilitytoengageineffortfulinferenceprocessesandavoidjudgmentbiaseswasdeterminedbyapplyingtheCognitiveReflectionTest(CRT;Frederick,2005),athree-itemmeasure(e.g.,“abatandaballcost$1.10intotal;thebatcosts$1.00morethantheball;howmuchdoestheballcost?”). TheNFCC(KruglanskiandWebster,1996)wasmeasuredusingthePolishversion(Kossowskaetal.,2012a).Participantswereaskedtoratethemselveson15itemsdescribingvariousreal-lifesituationsusingaLikertscalerangingfrom1(totallydisagree)to6(totallyagree).Additionally,thePolishversion(FajkowskaandMarszał-Wiśniewska,2009)ofthePositiveandNegativeAffectSchedule–ExpandedForm(PANAS-X;WatsonandClark,1994)wasappliedtomeasurecurrentaffectivestate.Theinstrumentconsistedof40affectivewords(suchaslonely,concentrated,andhappy)andparticipantsratedhowwelleachitemdescribedtheircurrentmoodonaseven-pointscalerangingfrom1(notatall)to7(verymuch).Positiveandnegativeaffectscoreswerecalculatedbytakingthemeanratingofeitherpositiveornegativeitems. BalloonAnalogRiskTask Tomeasureriskybehavior,aversionoftheBART(Lejuezetal.,2002)programmedinJavaScriptlanguage(interfaceshowninFigure1)wasused.Thetaskconsistedoftwoseriescarriedoutapproximately15minapart.Eachcomprised30trials,andineachtrial,theparticipantwaspresentedwitharealisticpictureofaballoononthecomputermonitor.TheconstructionofBARTwasthesameasdescribedindetailbyLejuezetal.(2002).Theseriesweremostsimilartoyellowballoonseries(Lejuezetal.,2002)inwhichtomaximizeearningsparticipantsshouldlearntopumpeachballoonapproximately16times,ignoringtheexplosions.Inourseries,theaveragebreakpointwas15(30trialswiththeexplosionsbetween1and30pumps);therefore,tomaximizeearningsparticipantsshouldlearntopumpeachballoonapproximately15times.Thetaskwastovirtuallyinflatetheballoonbyclickingonthebuttononthemonitormarked‘PUMP’anditwasdoneinaself-pacedmanner.Eachtimethiswasdone,theballoonvisuallygrewinsize,andtheparticipantreceivedonevirtualpoint.Atanytime,theparticipantcouldstopinflatingtheballoonandsecurethepointsinavirtualbank.Thiswasdonebyclickingonabuttonmarked‘COLLECT.’Eachpumpincreasedtheriskoflosingallthepointsgainedinthecurrenttrial,butitdidnotaffectpointsalreadysecuredinthebank.Theballoonwouldexplodeatarandompointintimebetweenthefirstandthirtiethpumps(themaximumnumberofpumpswas30). FIGURE1 FIGURE1.BalloonAnalogRiskTask. ExperimentalManipulationoftheBART WeexperimentallymodifiedtheBARTtoinfluencetheparticipant’sinitialfailuresorsuccesses.Thetaskincludedtwoseriesrequiringinflationof30balloonsineach.Thenumberofpumpsuntilaballoonexplodedwasrandomized(trialswiththeexplosionsbetween1and30pumps)exceptforthefirstthreetrials,whichwereusedfortheexperimentalmanipulation.Thesethreetrialswereeitherunlucky(explosionswithpumps3,4,and1)orlucky(explosionswithpumps25,27,and28),andparticipantsreceivedbothseriesinarandomorderduringthecourseofthetask.Weusedthetwoversionsofrandomordersforthetrials(4–30)andtheseversionswerecounterbalancedacrossparticipantsfortheserieswiththeluckyandunluckytrials.Theeffectivenessofthisemployedmanipulationwasconfirmedusingwithinsubjectsanalysisofvariance,wherethedependentvariablewasthenumberofpointsearnedinthefirstthreetrialsintwoseries(unluckyvs.luckyseries):intheunluckyseries,participantsearnedM=0.14points(SD=0.33),whileintheluckyseries,participantsearnedM=10.62points(SD=4.80),F(1,157)=746.48,p<0.001,η2=0.826.Theeffectivenessofthisemployedmanipulationwasadditionallyconfirmedusingwithinsubjectsanalysisofvariance,wherethedependentvariablewasthepercentageofexplosionsinthefirstthreetrialsintwoseries(unluckyvs.luckyseries):intheunluckyseries,95%ofthefirstthreeballoonsexploded,whileintheluckyseries,6%ofthefirstthreeballoonsexploded,F(1,157)=3645.43,p<0.001,η2=0.959. PrincipalBARTMeasures TheBARTprovidesvarioustypesofdatathatdescriberisktoleranceandpreferreddecision-makingstrategies.Weusedthreeprimarymeasurestoassessrisk-takingbehavior:adjustednumberofpumps,totalpointsearned,andtotalnumberofexplosions.ThesemeasureswereoriginallysuggestedbyLejuezetal.(2002). ThemostcommonlyusedmeasurefromtheBARTistheadjustednumberofpumps,calculatedastheaveragenumberofpumpsontheballoonsthatdidnotexplode.Forthepurposeofstatisticalanalysis,thisisthemostfavorablevariablebecauseincorporatingalltrials(includingthoseinwhichtheballoonexploded)wouldresultinusingtrialswhereparticipantsdidnotmaketheirowndecisions,butwereforcedtostoppumping(Huntetal.,2005).Thus,usingtheadjustednumberofpumpsdescribesarelativelyunbiasedriskattitude(Seamanetal.,2015).Makingadeliberatedecisiontostoppumpingisanexampleofanon-punitiveformofrisk-takingbehavior.Onthecontrary,thetotalnumberofexplosionsrepresentsthefrequencyofmakingadecisionthatexceededtheoptimalrisklevelandwhichwasfollowedbyimmediatepunishment(explosionandlossofpoints;Huntetal.,2005). Thetotalnumberofpointscollectedduringbothseries(excludingtrialsintroducedforexperimentalmanipulation)wasthefinalmeasuredeterminedusingtheBART.Thisdependentvariableisoftentreatedasaneffectivenessindexofdecision-makingstrategybecausemaximizationofearningsrequiresidentifyingtheoptimallevelofrisk.However,itisnotaperfectmeasureofriskpropensitybecauseidenticalearningsmaybegainedbothwhenaparticipantearnslittleforeachballoon,butcausesfewexplosionsandwhensheearnslargebutinfrequentreward,resultinginmanyexplosions. Despitethefactthateachofthesemeasuresdescribesadifferentaspectofdecision-makingunderriskanduncertainty,thereisevidencetheyindependently(inmostexperimentalprocedures)producesimilarfindings(Lejuezetal.,2003). Procedure Allparticipantsgaveinformedconsentforparticipationinstudyprocedures.Testswerecompletedinaroomwith7–9otherparticipantsfromthesameagegroup,whoweresimultaneouslydoingthesetestsinthesameorder.Eachparticipantwasprovidedadesksothatpaper-and-pencilmeasurescouldbecompletedaswellasacomputerequippedwiththeWindows7®operatingsystemanda22-inchmonitor.Monitorsweresetinawaythatpreventedparticipantsfromseeingothermonitorsandfromcommunicatingwithoneanother.Threeexperimenterswerepresentatalltimesduringstudyprocedures,ensuringcloseandindividualmonitoringofstudyparticipants. ThefirstseriesoftheBARTwascompletedusingthecomputer.Followingthis,theDSST,measuringmentalspeedofprocessinginformation,wascompleted.ParticipantsweretheninstructedtocompletethePANAS-Xtoself-reportcurrentaffectivestate.TheNFCCandCRTwerethencompleted.Finally,thesecondseriesoftheBARTwascompleted.Afterallparticipantsfinishedthecourseofactivities,thosewhoscoredthemostpointsontheBARTineachgroupreceivedaprize,whichwasmadeexplicittoparticipantspriortocompletionofstudyprocedures.Theentirestudytook30–50mintocomplete. Results TheeffectsofAgeonprocessingspeed,CognitiveReflectionTest,NeedforCognitiveClosure,andPANASXScalearesummarizedinTable1.PreliminaryanalysesshowedthattheOrderofSeries(unluckyfirst,luckyfirst;betweensubjectsvariable)didnotyieldanysignificantresultsasconcernmaineffectandinteractioneffectswithanyothervariablesforalldependentmeasures,henceweomittedthisvariableinfactorialdesign. TABLE1 TABLE1.Participantcharacteristics. RiskTaking Asseeninpreviousstudies,theprincipalmeasureofrisk-takingbehaviorusingtheBARTwastheadjustednumberofpumps;twoadditionalmeasuresweretotalpointsearnedandnumberofexplosions. A2×2:(Age[youngeradults,olderadults]×FirstTrials[unlucky,lucky;withinsubjectvariable])mixedanalysisofvariance(ANOVA)ofthesedependentmeasuresyieldedonlythemaineffectsofAge(seeTable2)andthesystematicmaineffectofFirstTrials(seeTable3). TABLE2 TABLE2.AnalysisofvariancemaineffectsoftheAgevariableonriskindicatorsinBARTtask(2×2schema:Age×FirstTrials). TABLE3 TABLE3.AnalysisofvariancemaineffectsofFirstTrialvariableonriskindicatorsinBARTtask(2×2schema:Age×FirstTrials). ResultsforthemaineffectsoftheAgevariableclearlyindicatethatolderfemaleadultsadopthigherriskavoidancebehaviorthanyoungerfemaleadults,performingworseontheBART(averageadjustednumberofpumpswaslower,fewerpointsearned,lowernumberofexplosions).ThemaineffectsofFirstTrialsconsistentlyindicatethatbotholderandyoungerfemaleadultsadoptedmuchriskierbehaviorinBARTperformancewhenthefirsttrialsintheserieswerelucky(consequentlyaverageadjustednumberofpumpswashigher,morepointsearned,highernumberofexplosions)ratherthanwhentheywereunlucky. AdaptationstoUnluckyandLuckySeries Todetermineinmoredetailtheinfluenceofintroducedexperimentalmanipulation,wecarriedoutamixedmodelANOVAtocomparethebehaviorsofparticipantsimmediatelyaftermanipulation(atthebeginningoftheseries),inthemiddle,andattheendoftheseries.Toaccomplishthis,anadditionalwithinsubjectvariable(PhaseofSeries)wascreated,andtheaverageadjustednumberofpumpsininthreesubsequentphasesofninetrialsfollowingexperimentalmanipulation(firstphase:trials4–12;middlephase:trials13–21;finalphase:trials22–30)wasdetermined. A2×2×3:(Age[youngeradults,olderadults]×FirstTrials[unlucky,lucky;withinsubjectvariable]×PhaseofSeries[first,middle,final;withinsubjectvariable])mixedANOVAoftheadjustednumberofpumpsinninetrialsyieldedtwomaineffectsandoneinteractioneffect. AmaineffectofAgewasfound,F(1,154)=16.60,p<0.001,ηp2=0.097,showingthatadjustednumberofpumpswaslowerinolderadults(M=7.87)thaninyoungeradults(M=9.64).AmaineffectofFirstTrialswasalsofound,F(1,154)=100.82,p<0.001,ηp2=0.396,showingthatadjustednumberofpumpswaslowerwhentheunluckyserieswaspresented(M=7.76)thanwhentheluckyserieswaspresented(M=9.76). ThemaineffectofFirstTrialswasqualifiedassignificantinteractioneffect,namelyFirstTrials×PhaseofSeries,F(1,154)=42.95,p<0.001,ηp2=0.218(seeFigure2–forcompleteness,theageeffectisincluded).AsshowninFigure2,theadjustednumberofpumpsduringtheinitiallyunluckyserieswaslowestinthefirstphaseandthengraduallyincreased(p<0.05)inthesubsequentphases.However,theadjustednumberofpumpsintheinitiallyluckyserieswashigherinthefirstphasethanintheotherphases(p<0.001)andsimilarinthemiddleandfinalphases.Atthebeginningofaseries,theadjustednumberofpumpswashigheriftheserieswasinitiallyluckythanifitwasinitiallyunlucky(ηp2=0.486).Thosedifferencesweregraduallydecreasing(ηp2=0.149inthemiddlephase;ηp2=0.114inthefinalphase).However,allthedifferencesintheadjustednumberofpumpsbetweenluckyandunluckyseriesacrossallphaseswerehighlysignificant(p<0.001). FIGURE2 FIGURE2.AdjustedaveragenumberofpumpsasafunctionofFirstTrials,PhaseofSeries,andAge.Errorbarsrepresentstandarderrors. Verysimilarresultswerefoundwhenweanalyzedtotalnumberofexplosionsexperienced(andpointsearned)inthefirst,middle,andfinalphases;therefore,wedonotreporttheseresultstoavoidredundancyofinformation. Theageofthestudyparticipantsdoesnotstatisticallysignificantlyinteractwithanyoftheothervariables.Therefore,itcanbeconcludedthatagingdoesnotresultinsignificantimpairmentonBARTperformanceafterincidentalfailureorincidentalsuccessexperience. MediatingMechanisms Preliminarycorrelationalanalysesshowedthatonlyprocessingspeed(measuredbyDSST)andneedforcognitiveclosure(NFCC)weresignificantlycorrelatedwithBARTmeasures(Table4);henceonlythosevariableswereconsideredpotentialmediatorsintherelationshipbetweenageandBARTperformance. TABLE4 TABLE4.Correlationtableofdependent,independent,anddemographicvariables. Resultsofthepositiveaffectscalearestatisticallysignificantlydifferentiatedbyage(Table1),confirmingtheexistenceofapositivityeffect(Carstensenetal.,1999).However,positiveaffectdidnotcorrelatewithanymeasuresdeterminedbytheBART(Table4).Similarly,theCRT(Frederick,2005),assumedtomeasureengagementineffortfulinferenceprocesses,hadhigherscoresintheyoungergroup(Table1);howeverthey,too,werenotcorrelatedwithBARTmeasures(Table4). Toverifythehypothesisthatthereisnodirectrelationshipbetweenparticipantageandtheirbehaviorunderriskanduncertainty(aftercontrollingformechanismsexplainingsucharelationship),amediationanalysisusingProcesssoftware(Hayes,2013)wasconducted.Itisimportanttounderlinethatsuchmediationanalysesarenotseenatanyrateascausaldevelopmentalchangebutonlyastheexaminationofdirectandindirectinfluenceofagedifferencesonriskydecisionchoice.AsdescribedbyHayesandScharkow(2013)foroptimaltestsoftheindirecteffectinstatisticalmediationanalysis,weappliedtherecommendedpercentilebootstrapCImethod.TheDSSTscorewasthemeasureofprocessingspeedofcognitivefunctioning,thesumofthetwoNFCCsubscaleswasthemeasureofmotivationtoselectincominginformation. Thestrongestmediatoroftherelationshipbetweenageandriskacceptancemeasuresisprocessingspeed(NFCCwasreliablemediatoronlyfornumberofexplosionsmeasure).InFigure3A,themediationinfluenceofthesevariablesontherelationshipbetweenageandadjustednumberofpumpsisshown.Bootstrapping(n=10000bootstrapresamples,95%confidenceintervals)revealedthesignificantindirecteffectofagingonrisk-seekingviaDSST(b2×b3=-1.86;BootLLCI=-2,91;BootULCI=-0.84),whilethedirecteffectbecomesstatisticallyinsignificantinthismodel(b1=0.80;p=0.29). FIGURE3 FIGURE3.Modelsdepictingmediatedeffectsofagedifferencesviaprocessingspeed(DSST)andNeedforCognitiveClosure(NFCC_2)on:(A)adjustednumberofpumps;(B)totalpoints;(C)numberofexplosionsinBARTexperiment.Boldarrowsindicatesignificantindirecteffects;dashedarrowsindicatenon-significanteffects.Entriesareunstandardizedregressioncoefficientswitht-testvalues.∗p<0.05,∗∗p<0.01,∗∗∗p<0.001. Themediationmechanismisshapedverysimilarlywhenanalyzingtheinfluenceofageontotalscore,expressedasearnedpoints(seeFigure3B),andyieldsanalogousresults:aninsignificantdirecteffectofageonthedependentvariable(b1=5.17;p=0.73)andastrongmediationpathviaprocessingspeed(b2×b3=-35.26;BootLLCI=-58.41;BootULCI=-13.44).Thesefindingsclearlydemonstratethatriskacceptanceandeffectivenessofchoicesmadeunderriskanduncertaintydonotdependdirectlyonage,butontheimpairmentofcognitivefunctions,whicharecharacteristictoaging. ThismodelisevenmoreextensivewhenappliedtotherelationshipbetweenageandthenumberofexplosionsexperiencedintheBART.WhileastrongmaineffectofthisrelationshipisshowninTable2,itbecomesinsignificant(b1=1.16;p=0.58)afterintroducingtwomediatingvariables:theprocessingspeedofinformationandtheneedforclosure(seeFigure3C).TheDSSTisagainamediatingfactor(b2×b3=-3.59;BootLLCI=-6,72;BootULCI=-0.41);however,thescaleofthismediationisadditionallyincreasedbytheNFCC(b4×b5=-1.63;BootLLCI=-3,28;BootULCI=-0.08).Aneedforcognitiveclosureexpressestheepistemicmotivation,whichsignificantlyincreaseswithage,resultinginmorejudiciouspumpingofballoons,thusresultinginfewerexplosions. Discussion ThisstudyusedtheBARTtoinvestigatetheinfluenceofagingonthespecificityofdecision-makingunderriskanduncertaintyamongwomen.Theprimaryresultwasastrongnegativeeffectofageonalldecision-makingaspectsofthetask,affectingboththedegreeofrisktoleranceandefficiencyofperformance.Thisagreeswithpreviousresearchfindingsonage-relatedlimitationsofBARTperformance(Henningeretal.,2010;Cavanaghetal.,2012;Rolisonetal.,2012).Moregenerally,thesefindingsconfirmedthenotionofMataetal.(2011)thatolderadultsdemonstrateriskaversionintheriskychoicecontextinwhichrisk-seekingwouldbeamoreeffectivestrategy. Thefactthatincidentalfailurescauseinitialincreasesinprecautionsimilarlyamongyoungerandolderadultsmaybebecauseitisafairlycommonlifeexperience,especiallyinthecontextofconsumerbehavior.Forinstance,abatchoflightbulbsofagivenbrandmayeasilyoverheat.Asaresult,consumersmayreactbyautomaticallyusingcautionwhenpurchasingproductsofthatbrand,buttheymaygraduallyandslowlychangewithmorepositiveexperiences.Itisinlinewithanumberofstudies(Queenetal.,2012;Hessetal.,2013),whichdemonstratethatagedifferencesdisappearinthedomainofconsumerbehaviorregardingwell-knownproducts.Itisthereforeexplainedbypossessinglifeexperiencesandbywell-preservedexperientialprocessesamongolderadults.Similarly,incidentalsuccessesareusuallyfollowedbytemporaryincreasestowardmoreriskybehaviors.Forexample,inarecentlypublishedstudyconductedinnaturalsettings,itwasfoundthatafterabasketballteam’svictory,residentsofthetownpurchasedsubstantiallymorelotterytickets(Ottoetal.,2016). TheMediatingRolesofProcessingSpeedandNeedforCognitiveClosure Furtheranalysesshowedthatprocessingspeed(asmeasuredbytheDSST)mediatesage-relateddifferencesinthebasicmeasuresoftheBART:theadjustednumberofpumps,theearnedpoints,andthenumberofexplosions.Therelationshipbetweenageandexplosionswasalsomediated(double-unrelatedmediators)bytheneedforclosuremeasure(NFCC_2).Thesefindingsconfirmedtheresultsofpreviousresearch(Henningeretal.,2010),whichusedadifferentmeasureofprocessingspeed.Additionally,ouranalysesidentifiedfullmediationsintermsofBaronandKenny’s(1986)classicalmediationmodel:thedirectandstrongeffectofageonBARTmeasuresdisappearedwhenprocessingspeed(andincaseofexplosions,alsotheneedforclosure)wasincludedinthemediationmodel.Onamoregenerallevel,thesefindingsareconsistentwiththegeneralroleofprocessingspeed(Salthouse,1996,2001)asthemediatoroftherelationshipbetweenageandperformanceofcomplexcognitivetasks.Morespecifically,thesefindingsagreewiththeresultsdescribedinmanyrecentstudies(e.g.,Finucaneetal.,2005;Mataetal.,2007;Freyetal.,2015)–thatprocessingspeedandsomeothercognitivevariables(e.g.,workingmemory)areimportantmediatorsofage-relateddifferencesincomplexdecision-makingtasks. Theconstructoftheneedforcognitiveclosure,whichincreaseswithage,alsodeservesmoreapplicationsinthedomainofagingandriskydecision-making.Researchersemphasizeitsimportanceateverystageoflife(Roetsetal.,2015);however,itappearstobeofspecialimportanceinolderage.IndividualswithhighNFCCareintolerantofconfusionanduncertainty,andthereforeareinclinedtomakerapiddecisions.Ontheotherhand,low-NFCCindividualsaremotivatedtoanalyzesituationsinasystematicmanner,consideralternativeoptions,andmakecomplexdecisions(KruglanskiandWebster,1996).MostpreviousresearchhasdemonstratedthatNFCCisrelatedtoasimplifiedcognitiveprocessinvolvedindecision-making,alimitedinformationsearch,andapreferenceforclearandunambiguousjudgment.Moreimportantly,ithasshownthathigh-NFCCindividualsarecharacterizedbyfewercognitiveresourcesthatcanbeallocatedtopresentactivities(Kossowska,2007;Kossowskaetal.,2010).Thus,inourrecentresearch(Czarneketal.,2015),wefoundthatagingdecreasedprocessingspeedandcognitiveflexibilityasmeasuredbytheTrailMakingTestandincreasedNFCC(thesametwoNFCCsubscalesusedhere)andthatbothfactorsmediatetherelationshipbetweenageanddrawingstereotypicalinferencesaboutout-groups.Inthiscurrentstudy,weagainfoundthedouble-mediationofacognitivefactor(mentalspeed)andamotivationfactor(needforcognitiveclosure)oftherelationshipbetweenageandthenumberofexplosionsexperiencedduringtheBART.Furtherresearchisneededtoelucidatetherolesofbothcognitiveandmotivationalmechanismsinage-relateddifferencesinriskychoices. TheRoleofInitialRiskPerceptionintheBART In-depthanalysesprovidedmoreinformationonparticipants’behaviorsconnectedwiththeinfluenceofincidentalfailureexperiences(threeunluckytrials)ondecision-makingunderriskintheBART.Aconsistentpatternofresultswasacquired,suggestingthatstudyparticipantspumptheballoonfarmoreboldlyafterasafebeginningthanafterexperiencingincidentalfailure.However,thisinfluencegraduallydisappearsasexperienceisgained,andtheeffectofpreviouslyexperiencedfailurebecomesweaker.Generally,thispatternofresultsispartiallyconsistentwiththepredictionsofcognitivemodelingstudies(Cavanaghetal.,2012;Rolisonetal.,2012;Seamanetal.,2015)thatinitialperceptionsofhighriskmightimpairBARTperformance.Thenewandintriguingevidenceisthatsuchmanipulationofincidentalfailureisverystrongandlastsacrosstheentireseries.Theadditionaladvantageofthisstudywasthatthestrengthofthiseffectwasconfirmedbyexperimentalmanipulation. Thispatternofresultsdoesnotdifferstatisticallyinbothagegroups,supportingtheexistinghypothesesthatolderadultshavetheabilitytoadapttheirbehaviortochangingconditions(Queenetal.,2012).Olderwomenwhoweresubjectedtoincidentalfailuresatthebeginningwerenotonlyabletoadjusttheirballoonpumpingstrategiestofurthertaskconditionsequallyefficientlyasyoungerwomen,butalsostabilizedthenumberofpumpsattheveryendtolevelsequalingthoseofparticipantssubjectedtoluckybeginnings.Maintainingsuchflexibilityindecision-makingisundoubtedlyanexampleofamechanismcompensatingforsomecognitivelimitations. LimitationsandFutureResearch Extendedreplicationsandlongitudinalparadigmsareneededtoestablishwhetherthedouble-mediationmodels(includingbothcognitiveandmotivationalvariables)arereliablefortheBARTandwhethertheycouldbeextendedtootherriskydecisionparadigms,suchastheIGT,whichshowedoppositetendenciesinaging(cf.Mataetal.,2011).Also,itwouldbeimportanttodeterminewhetherexperimentalmanipulationwithincidentalfailures(orsuccesses)willreplicatebothverystrongeffectsandgradualadaptationsinotherriskychoiceparadigmsandtoconfirmthepreservedabilityofolderadultstoefficientlycopewithsuchincidentalevents.Moreover,itwouldbeusefultoincludeaffectmeasureofthePANASXbothatthebeginningandattheendofthestudytocheckforpossibleinfluencesoftheBARTperformanceontheaffectiveexperienceofstudyparticipantsinfutureresearchoratleasttoincludeitattheverybeginningofthestudytoavoidtheinfluenceofBARTperformanceonaffect. LindenbergerandPötter(1998)underlinedthelimitationsofregressionmediatingmodelsinprovidingareliableaccountofvarianceexplainedbecauseofexistinginter-correlationsbetweenpredictorvariables.Theprimaryproblemisthatcorrelationsbetweentwovariablesthatareeachcorrelatedwithagemayresultinaspuriousrelationshipbetweenthetwovariablesthatdoesnotreflectatruerelationship.However,therearesomecounterargumentsagainstthepossibilityofsuchspuriousrelationshipsinouranalyses,showingthattheeffectsofageonBARTmeasuresaremediatedbymentalspeed(operationalizedbytheDSST).First,thezero-ordercorrelationsbetweenmentalspeedandBART(seeTable4)andrelationshipsbetweenmentalspeedandBARTinthemediationmodels(seeFigure3)preservedtheirsigns,values,andsignificancelevels.AsdemonstratedbyLindenbergerandPötter(1998),incaseofspuriouscorrelations,zero-ordercorrelationsbetweenmediatoranddependentvariablemayshowcompletelydifferentpatternsthanappropriaterelationshipswithinmediationmodels.Second,thezero-ordercorrelationsbetweenmentalspeedandBARTmeasureswerecalculatedseparatelyforeachagegroup.Fortheoldergroup,thesecorrelationsweresubstantialandsignificant(atleastp<0.05)withtheaveragenumberofpumps(r=0.35),thenumberofpoints(r=0.29),andthenumberofexplosions(r=0.30).However,thesecorrelationswerenotsignificantamongtheyoungergroup.Thesepatternsofcorrelationsareconsistentwiththeoreticalargumentsthatlargerproblemsofolderadults(comparedtoyoungeradults)inBARTperformanceareassociatedwithloweredmentalspeed.Generally,mediationanalysesusingextremeagegroupsshouldbetreatedwithcaution.However,LindenbergerandPötter(1998)advisedthereisnothingfundamentallywrongwithusingmediationalanalysestoshowdirectandindirecteffectsofagegroupsonpsychologicalprocessesiftherearesoundtheoreticalargumentsinfavorofsuchapathorstructuralmodels. Infuturestudies,itwouldbeimportanttoexamineothercognitivecomponents(i.e.,notonlyprocessingspeed,butalsoworkingmemoryspans;Engleetal.,1999)andothermotivationalcomponentsaspotentialmediatorsoftherelationshipbetweenagingandriskydecision-making.ExamplesarethePersonalNeedforStructureandNeedforCognition(seeNeubergandNewsom,1993;Cacioppoetal.,1996)andcardiovascularmeasuresofmotivation(seeHessandEnnis,2014). Itisimportant,infurtherstudies,tocollectreactiontimes.Theabsenceorpresenceofanyage-relateddifferencesorinteractionsmaybeconfoundedbydifferentstrategies.Forexample,ifolderadultstakemuchmoretimethanyoungeradultstocompletethetasks,thiswouldleadtodifferentinterpretationthanifolderadultscarriedoutthetasksveryquickly. Theobviouslimitationsofthisresearcharethecross-sectionalcharacterofitsdesignandlackofcomparablemaleparticipants.Insomeearlierexperimentsonriskpreferences,researchersprovedthatinaccordancewithcommonstereotypesmenindeeddoprefermoreriskystrategies(includingthedeterminationofneurologicalunderpinningsofthesepreferences,e.g.,Bollaetal.,2004);whileinotherstudies(includingthosewhichuseneuroimagingtechniques),nosuchdifferenceswerefound(Galvanetal.,2007).d’AcremontandVanderLinden(2006)showedthatdifferencesinriskpreferencescanbeexplainedbythechoiceofaspecificexperimentaltask,whichseemstoconfirmthethesisthatthesedifferencesresultmorefromthecontextthanbiologicalbases(Cauffmanetal.,2010).InearlierresearchusingtheBARTprocedure,greaterriskaversionwasfoundamongwomen(Lejuezetal.,2002);however,thisdidnothaveadirectimpactontheeffectivenessofdecisionsthatweremade.Moreover,neuronaldifferencesinthisrespectwerealsoreported(Cazzelletal.,2012),whichmaybetheresultofdifferentratesofdevelopmentofbrainstructuresinthesexes.Forthesereasons,wechosetofocusexclusivelyonwomen.Ononehand,thiscouldbeconsideredalimitation,butontheotherhand,iteliminatespossibledistortionsintheresultsbyunspecifiedgenderdifferences. Conclusion Inthisstudyweappliedthedual-processperspectiveofageeffectsondecisionmaking.Accordingtothistheoreticalperspectivetheinfluenceofagingondecisionmakingismoderatedbythetypeofprocessingdemands(deliberativevs.experiential).InlinewithpredictionsolderparticipantswerefoundtoexhibitsignificantlyhigherriskaversionandlowerBARTperformance(demandingdeliberativeprocesses)comparedtotheiryoungercounterparts,addingcompellingresearchevidencetothescarcenumberofstudiesofageeffectsonBART.Whatisimportantandnewinthedomainofagingandriskydecisionmaking,isthattheeffectofageonsomeBARTmeasureswasmediatednotonlybycognitive(processingspeed)butalsomotivational(needforcognitiveclosure)mechanisms.Wealsodiscovered,usingoriginalexperimentalmanipulation,thatolderandyoungeradultsshowsimilarpatternofadaptationstotheinitialfailure(vs.success),whichismostprobablyduetopreservedefficiencyofexperientialprocessesinolderage. Theagingpopulationfacesnewchallengesthatoftenrequiremakingimportantriskydecisionsinunfamiliarcircumstances.Thisstudyprovidesnewknowledgeaboutmechanismsthatallowolderadultstobuild,inadifferent(notnecessarilyworse)way,theirownstrategyforfunctioninginriskanduncertaintyconditions.Itturnsoutthatinsomecases,forinstancewhenexperiencingincidentalfailure,olderadultsperformaswellasyoungeradults,whichcallsintoquestionmanyexistingstereotypes.Abetterunderstandingofthemutualrolesofcognitive,motivational,andaffectivemechanisms(see:Petersetal.,2011;Verhaeghenetal.,2012)mayleadtogreaterawarenessamongolderadultsoftheiradvantagesaswellasdisadvantagesandtoformationofnewtrainingprogramspreventingimperfectdecision-makinginlateadulthood. AuthorContributions MK:designoftheresearch,dataacquisition,basicdataanalysisandinterpretation,articledrafting,finalapprovaloftheversiontobepublished,agreementtobeaccountableforallaspectsofthework;KR:designoftheresearch,dataacquisition,articledrafting,finalapprovaloftheversiontobepublished,agreementtobeaccountableforallaspectsofthework;GS:supervisionoftheproject,designoftheresearch,advanceddataanalysisandinterpretation,revisingthework,finalapprovaloftheversiontobepublished,agreementtobeaccountableforallaspectsofthework. Funding ThisworkwassupportedbytheNationalScienceCentre,Poland,underGrant2015/17/B/HS6/04185,awardedtoGS. ConflictofInterestStatement Theauthorsdeclarethattheresearchwasconductedintheabsenceofanycommercialorfinancialrelationshipsthatcouldbeconstruedasapotentialconflictofinterest. Acknowledgment TheauthorswouldliketothankMalgorzataKowalandMarcinDomaszewskiforassistancewithdatacollection. 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Editedby: EmmaV.Ward,MiddlesexUniversity,UK Reviewedby: ThomasHess,NorthCarolinaStateUniversity,USA LoreenMamerow,UniversityofBasel,Switzerland Copyright©2016Koscielniak,RydzewskaandSedek.Thisisanopen-accessarticledistributedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense(CCBY).Theuse,distributionorreproductioninotherforumsispermitted,providedtheoriginalauthor(s)orlicensorarecreditedandthattheoriginalpublicationinthisjournaliscited,inaccordancewithacceptedacademicpractice.Nouse,distributionorreproductionispermittedwhichdoesnotcomplywiththeseterms. *Correspondence:GrzegorzSedek,[email protected] COMMENTARY ORIGINALARTICLE Peoplealsolookedat SuggestaResearchTopic>