Myopia for the future or hypersensitivity to reward? Age-related changes in decision making on the Iowa Gambling Task

A S Bauer; J Timpe; E C Edmonds; A Bechara; D Tranel; N L Denburg

doi:10.1037/a0029970

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Myopia for the future or hypersensitivity to reward? Age-related changes in decision making on the Iowa Gambling Task

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Myopia for the future or hypersensitivity to reward? Age-related changes in decision making on the Iowa Gambling Task

A S Bauer, J Timpe, E C Edmonds, A Bechara, D Tranel and N L Denburg

Emotion (Washington, D.C.), Vol.13(1), pp.19-24

02/2013

DOI: 10.1037/a0029970

PMCID: PMC3965348

PMID: 23046455

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Abstract

It has been shown that older adults perform less well than younger adults on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), a real-world type decision-making task that factors together reward, punishment, and uncertainty. To explore the reasons behind this age-related decrement, we administered to an adult life span sample of 265 healthy participants (Mdn age = 62.00 +/- 16.17 years; range [23-88]) 2 versions of the IGT, which have different contingencies for successful performance: A'B'C'D' requires choosing lower immediate reward (paired with lower delayed punishment); E'F'G'H' requires choosing higher immediate punishment (paired with higher delayed reward). There was a significant negative correlation between age and performance on the A'B'C'D' version of the IGT (r = -.16, p = .01), while there was essentially no correlation between age and performance on the E'F'G'H' version (r = -.07, p = .24). In addition, the rate of impaired performance in older participants was significantly higher for the A'B'C'D' version (23%) compared with the E'F'G'H' version (13%). A parsimonious account of these findings is an age-related increase in hypersensitivity to reward, whereby the decisions of older adults are disproportionately influenced by prospects of receiving reward, irrespective of the presence or degree of punishment.

Uncertainty

Age Factors

Gambling - psychology

Humans

Middle Aged

Aging - psychology

Forecasting

Neuropsychological Tests

Young Adult

Punishment - psychology

Aged, 80 and over

Adult

Aged

Decision Making - physiology

Reward

Details

Title: Subtitle: Myopia for the future or hypersensitivity to reward? Age-related changes in decision making on the Iowa Gambling Task
Creators: A S Bauer - Department of Neurology Division of Behavioral Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience University of Iowa College of Medicine
J Timpe - Department of Neurology Division of Behavioral Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience University of Iowa College of Medicine
E C Edmonds - Department of Behavioral Sciences Rush University Medical Center
A Bechara - Department of Psychology University of Southern California
D Tranel - Department of Psychology University of Iowa
N L Denburg - Department of Neurology Division of Behavioral Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience University of Iowa College of Medicine
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Emotion (Washington, D.C.), Vol.13(1), pp.19-24
DOI: 10.1037/a0029970
PMID: 23046455
PMCID: PMC3965348
NLM abbreviation: Emotion
ISSN: 1528-3542
eISSN: 1931-1516
Publisher: United States
Grant note: R01 DA022549 / NIDA NIH HHS P01 NS019632 / NINDS NIH HHS K01 AG022033 / NIA NIH HHS P01 NS19632 / NINDS NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 02/2013
Academic Unit: Neurology; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984002431402771

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