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From gains to losses: Age‐related differences in decisions under risk in a non‐monetary gambling task
Author(s) -
Depping Miriam K.,
Best Ryan,
Freund Alexandra M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1111/bjdp.12362
Subject(s) - psychology , arousal , developmental psychology , young adult , valence (chemistry) , task (project management) , cognition , differential effects , social psychology , psychiatry , physics , management , quantum mechanics , medicine , economics
Lifespan theory suggests a shift from a primary orientation towards attaining gains in young adulthood to preventing losses in older adulthood. The current research tested if this motivational shift is reflected in behavioural and emotional responses to risks in non‐monetary gains and losses. Study 1 established in a sample of N = 168 younger (18–30 years) and older adults (65–79 years) that a non‐monetary gambling task was experienced similarly by the age groups with respect to arousal and valence of the task, and the willingness to continue playing. In Study 2 ( N = 83), differences between young (18–30 years) and older (64–85 years) adults’ risk‐taking in this non‐monetary gambling task with mixed gambles were tested while assessing physiological responses (event‐related heart rate change) to gain and loss feedback. Behavioural – but not physiological – results confirm hypotheses derived from a lifespan motivational framework regarding age‐differential effects of gains and losses.