Corinna E. Löckenhoff’s research while affiliated with Cornell University and other places

Arthritis, which affects tens of millions of middle-aged and older adults, is one of the most common causes of activity limitation, disability, and chronic pain. Despite evidence that total joint replacement (TJR) can improve quality of life and physical functioning in arthritis patients, many eligible TJR candidates hesitate to pursue surgical intervention, and this reluctance is higher among older patients. Research shows that willingness to undergo TJR is influenced by a variety of psychosocial factors. Social relationships in particular can be an important source of support and information for patients when considering surgery. It is well documented that people’s social networks tend to be smaller and more close-knit as they age, and recent research suggests that decision support networks for hypothetical healthcare decisions show the same trend. The present study examined whether this pattern extends to realistic decisions about TJR. Using a name-elicitation approach, we collected information on the size of patients’ decision support networks (Msize = 3.30; rangesize = 0-8) in a sample of potential TJR candidates (N = 98; Mage = 67.88; rangeage = 40-93 years). As predicted, linear regression revealed that, compared to younger potential TJR candidates, older potential TJR candidates identified fewer members in their decision support networks (B= -0.033; p =.048). Additional analyses examined the role of potential covariates including demographics (e.g., gender, marital status), health (e.g., pain, functional status), and psychosocial variables (e.g., personality, health literacy). Theoretical implications and ramifications for clinical practice are discussed.

Decision avoidance is more frequent with age, but associated mechanisms remain underexplored. To address this gap, a mixed-methods study captured decision makers’ subjective evaluation of choice options prior to making or avoiding choices. An adult lifespan sample (N = 227, 18-88 years, M = 50.71, SD = 19.22, 55% women) evaluated four health and consumer decision scenarios. Specifically, participants were asked to write down what they liked and disliked about the available choice options before making or avoiding a choice. Decision avoidance was positively associated with age. Open-ended responses were on average 33.08 words long (SD = 22.38) and contained a sum of 21.18 statements (SD = 16.42). The number of words or statements was unrelated to age. Responses were coded for remarks about positive (κ =.79-.88), negative (κ =.60-.74), and fixable/acceptable (κ =.32-.85) choice attributes, as well as choice preferences (κ =.34-.67). No significant findings emerged with respect to the latter two categories; among the former, the number of negative remarks dominated the positive ones. Decision makers who focused relatively more on negative attributes were older and reported poorer mental well-being. Among middle-aged and older adults, but not younger adults, a stronger focus on negative compared to positive attributes was associated with more pronounced decision avoidance tendencies. All findings remained significant after accounting for the number of words or statements. In combination, this may suggest that older age groups hold stricter decision standards or are less willing to trade-off between favorable and unfavorable choice attributes.

Self-continuity, the perceived connectedness with past and future selves, varies across the life span. Previous research found that both past and future self-continuity are positively associated with age and that such effects are more pronounced for more distant time intervals (Rutt & Löckenhoff, 2016). Questions remain about the appropriate mathematical modeling of such patterns and potential associations between age differences in self-continuity and temporal discounting, the tendency to devalue future outcomes. In response, the present study assessed both past and future self-continuity as well as temporal discounting across four temporal distances (0.5, 1, 5, 10 years) in a U.S. adult life-span sample (N=461, aged 18–96, M = 51.38, SD =19.54, 52% female, 65% Non-Hispanic White). When compared to linear and exponential models, hyperbolic models provided the best fit for both self-continuity and temporal discounting. Subsequent analyses therefore focused on hyperbolic slope parameters (k) derived for each participant. Chronological age was negatively associated with k for both self-continuity and temporal discounting, indicating that, with age, the perceived connectedness with past/future selves and the perceived value of delayed rewards show fewer decrements with increasing temporal distance. However, although k parameters for past/future self-continuity were significantly associated with each other, they were not significantly associated with temporal discounting. Moreover, age differences in temporal discounting remained significant after controlling for age differences in past/future self-continuity. The present study extends our understanding of previously reported age differences in self-continuity and temporal discounting but suggests that they cannot be traced to the same underlying mechanism.

This review examines how age-related differences in the experience of regrets relate to decision making with particular emphasis on memory-based and anticipatory processes. First, we summarize how reports of different types of regrets vary across the lifespan. For long-term/life regrets, older (vs. younger) adults tend to recall more intense and omission-based regrets, but not a higher number of regrets. For short-term/everyday regrets, older (vs. younger) adults tend to recall fewer and less intense regrets as well as similar or higher levels of decision satisfaction. For anticipated or future regrets, older adults are typically as accurate as younger adults in forecasting feelings, but they expect to experience lower levels of negative affect after missing out on desirable decision outcomes. Second, we link age-related differences in the experience of regrets to potential neural, cognitive, emotional, and motivational mechanisms. With respect to neural and cognitive processes, age-related cognitive changes may alter older adults’ ability to process regret-related information and to engage in counterfactual thinking. With respect to affect, older adults tend to attend more strongly to positive decision-relevant information and remember past decisions and experiences as more positively than they initially experienced them. Finally, with respect to motivation, older age is typically associated with a shift toward maintenance and loss prevention goals. In addition, older adults focus more on controlling their response to regrets rather than the regrettable decision itself. We conclude our review by identifying limitations of the extant literature and making suggestions for future research directions on the topic.

Objectives Many choices are made in the context of one’s social network, but age differences in consulting others during decision-making remain underexplored. This pre-registered study examined age differences in the composition of decision-related social networks and associated social preferences and motivations. Based on prior findings regarding age differences in information-seeking and socioemotional preferences, we predicted that with advanced age people would consult fewer and more emotionally close social partners, consult them less frequently, rate consultations as more helpful, and prioritize social goals during decision-making. Methods An adult lifespan sample (N = 485; Mage = 51.08; SDage = 19.63, rangeage = 18-96 years) considered hypothetical choices and reported how many and what types of people they would consult and how often they would consult them. They also identified their most important decision consultants and evaluated interactions with those individuals. Results As predicted, age was associated with consulting fewer people less frequently and this was not explained by having a smaller range of potential consultants in one’s network. Contrary to predictions, the proportion of close social partners in decision networks and the perceived helpfulness of consultants did not vary significantly by age. Moreover, older adults were less likely than younger adults to prioritize relationship quality over decision quality. Controlling for potential covariates did not diminish the observed age effects. Discussion These findings align with the prior literature on age-related decrements in pre-decisional information seeking but suggest that age-related preferences for close social partners and socioemotional goals do not extend to decision-related consultations.

Social discounting describes the tendency to show less generosity to more socially distant recipients. With respect to age differences, prior studies (Pornpattananangkul et al., 2019; Lin & Zhang, 2020) found that older adults showed more generosity to distant others (i.e., lower social discounting rates) than younger adults. However, prior research relied on small samples, compared extreme age groups, and focused on Asian countries. To examine generalizability, this pre-registered study examined social discounting and charitable giving in a U.S. adult life-span sample (N = 426, age 18-96, Mage = 50.93, SDage = 19.51, 51% female, 61% non-Hispanic White). The social discounting measure was adapted from Jones and Rachlin (2006) and involved five social distances (1, 5, 10, 50, 100) on a 100-point scale (0 = closest, 100 = most distant). For each social distance, participants were asked how much of $100 they would allocate to themselves versus a person at that distance. They made the same decision for their favorite charity. Contrary to previous findings and our predictions, results revealed a significant positive association between age and social discounting rates (p< .01), such that older adults’ generosity declined more with increasing social distance. Age differences remained robust after controlling for demographics. There were no significant age differences in average giving across social distances and in charitable giving, but, regardless of age, charitable giving was higher among those with lower social discounting rates (p< .001). Findings suggest that age differences in social discounting may be sensitive to cultural context.

Older adults are more likely to avoid decisions, which puts them at risk of experiencing negative consumer or health outcomes. Because the underlying reasons remain unclear, this pre-registered online study assessed the roles of (1) affect (especially regret), (2) subjective difficulty, and (3) cognitive ability in explaining age-related differences in decision avoidance. In addition, half of all participants were randomized to a writing intervention aimed at reducing avoidance tendencies. An adult lifespan sample (N = 432, Mage = 50.94, SDage = 19.53 years, 50% women, 62% Non-Hispanic White) chose between making or avoiding four consumer and health-based decisions. Affect, including regret, was assessed before (pre-decisional), during (peri-decisional), and after making decisions (post-decisional). Subjective difficulty was measured during the decision process. Finally, participants completed assessments of demographic background, socio-emotional experience, health, personality, and cognitive ability. We found that older adults were more likely to avoid decisions (p<.001), but age was unrelated to peri-decisional affect and subjective difficulty. Peri-decisional and post-decisional affect were not consistently related to avoidance, but participants who reported more difficulty were more likely to avoid decisions (p=.002). Covariates and cognitive measures could not explain age-related differences, but lower growth-goal-orientation and stronger maximization tendencies predicted decision avoidance after accounting for age (ps<.05). The intervention was successful at improving peri-decisional cognitive load and peri-decisional affect (ps<.05) but did not reduce decision avoidance. In sum, none of the assessed mechanisms could explain age-related increases in decision avoidance. Across age groups, perceived difficulty but not actual cognitive ability predicted avoidance tendencies.

Older adults are more likely to underuse and actively avoid decision-relevant information. Although the mechanisms underlying age-related differences in information avoidance are still unknown, Fuzzy-Trace Theory (Reyna, 2012) suggests they may be due to age-related differences in information processing preferences: According to this framework, information is stored using both gist (subjective meaning) and verbatim representations (objective details/numbers). Older adults prefer gist information and gist-based information processing, whereas younger adults favor verbatim information and verbatim processing. To examine whether age-related differences in information avoidance are affected by age-related information and processing preferences, an adult lifespan sample (N = 432) completed a pre-registered online study. Participants responded to scenarios containing potentially aversive information and chose between accepting or avoiding the information. Information formatting was experimentally manipulated, with participants either being faced with receiving gist or verbatim-formatted information. Across age groups, participants were more likely to avoid verbatim numbers than qualitative gist information (p=.026); no associations were found between avoidance and information or processing preferences. At odds with prior research, age was associated with lower information avoidance (p=.010). Follow-up analyses revealed that older adults were less likely to avoid information in health-related contexts but not in contexts unrelated to health (e.g., consumer information; p=.010). Overall, participants were more likely to avoid non-health information than health information (p<.001). In sum, our findings revealed that older adults show a decreased likelihood of avoiding potentially aversive health information, but that age-related differences in information avoidance cannot be linked to age-related information or processing preferences.