Journal article
Trajectory of risky decision making for potential gains and losses from ages 5 to 85
Journal of behavioral decision making, Vol.24(4), pp.331-344
10/2011
DOI: 10.1002/bdm.690
Abstract
The ability to make advantageous decisions in the face of uncertainty is an essential human skill, yet the development of such abilities over the lifespan is still not well understood. In the current study, from childhood through older adulthood, we tracked the developmental trajectory of risk taking for gains and losses, and expected value (EV) sensitivity in risky choices. In the gain domain, risk‐taking decreased consistently across the lifespan. In the loss domain, risk‐taking was relatively constant across ages, a result we attribute to the pervasiveness of loss aversion. EV sensitivity showed an inverted‐U‐shaped function, increasing from childhood to adulthood but then decreasing for the elderly, which occurred for both risky gains and risky losses. This finding is consistent with neuropsychological and neuroanatomical evidence concerning the role of the frontal lobe in decision making, which is relatively late to develop during childhood but may degrade earlier in the later years. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Trajectory of risky decision making for potential gains and losses from ages 5 to 85
- Creators
- Joshua A WellerIrwin P LevinNatalie L Denburg
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of behavioral decision making, Vol.24(4), pp.331-344
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons, Ltd; Chichester, UK
- DOI
- 10.1002/bdm.690
- ISSN
- 0894-3257
- eISSN
- 1099-0771
- Number of pages
- 14
- Grant note
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics cooperative agreement (#5 U18 HSO16094) National Institute on Aging Career Development Award (K01 AG022033) National Science Foundation Grants (# SES 02‐17620 (Levin, PI); SES 07‐21103 (Levin PI, Weller Co‐PI); SES08‐20585 (Weller, PI))
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/2011
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Marketing; Neurology; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984070612802771
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