Age-related changes in decision making: Comparing informed and noninformed situations
Abstract
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.
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Important capabilities in the 'cold' decision-making strategy are understanding probabilities, updating this knowledge in working memory and storing it in long-term memory, and inhibiting responses to occasional feedback.
“Important capabilities in this strategy are the understanding of probabilities, the ability to update this knowledge in working memory and store it in long-term memory, and to be able to inhibit responses to occasional feedback [69].”
From Risky behavior in gambling tasks in individuals with ADHD–a systematic literature review (2013) · cites this paper as [69]
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Self-citationRisky behavior in gambling tasks in individuals with ADHD–a systematic literature review
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- Authors
- Van Duijvenvoorde, A. C. K., Jansen, B. R. J., Bredman, J. C., & Huizenga, H. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
- Venue
- Developmental Psychology
- Published
- 2012
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 192-203
- ISSN
- 0012-1649 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-0599
- OpenAlex
- W2048510552
- Cited by
- 94
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 3.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Developmental Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Keywords
- decision-making, age-related development, long-term memory, working memory, Iowa Gambling Task, children, inhibitory control
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aging, Analysis of Variance, Attention, Child, Choice Behavior, Decision Making, Female, Games, Experimental, Humans, Male, Mathematics, Memory, Short-Term, Neuropsychological Tests, Reaction Time, Sex Characteristics, Knowledge, Young Adult
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