A new study by CEPAR researchers Dr Craig Sinclair, Dr Ranmalee Eramudugolla, Dr Brooke Brady, Professor Nicolas Cherbuin and Scientia Professor Kaarin Anstey, examines decision-making performance on the ‘Game of Dice Task’ – a widely used behavioural measure of decision-making under explicit risk – among older adults.
Over 1,000 adults without cognitive impairment aged between 72 and 76 years participated in this experiment as part of the Australian longitudinal cohort PATH Through Life study.
The study found that demographic predictors, such as age, gender, level of education and household income, as well as cognitive measures were associated with older adult decision-making performance.
The researchers identified three decision-making sub-types: ‘advantageous’, ‘disadvantageous’ and ‘switching’.
They found that relative to the mid-performing ‘switching’ sub-type, ‘advantageous’ decision-makers were more likely to be younger, male and have higher scores on a test of verbal learning.
‘Disadvantageous’ decision-makers were more likely to have poorer scores on a measure of one component of executive functions, which are thought to support the higher-order cognitive control of goal-directed behaviour.
The study results indicate that specific components of learning and executive functions are influential in decision-making under explicit risk.
Craig Sinclair, Ranmalee Eramudugolla, Brooke Brady, Nicolas Cherbuin & Kaarin J. Anstey (2021): The Role of Cognition and Reinforcement Sensitivity in Older Adult Decision-Making under Explicit Risk Conditions. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2021.1909709