Browsing by Author "Wood, Meagan Michelle"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Age differences in risky decision making: the effects of explicitness, personality, and working memory(University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Wood, Meagan Michelle; Black, Sheila R.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaIn the current study, I examined the effects of age, explicitness of instructional materials, and personality differences on risky decision making while playing the Game of Dice Task (GDT). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two instruction conditions: Explicit vs. Standard. In the explicit condition, the instructions were very straightforward, with respect to risk, while the instructions in the standard condition were not. To describe this game in more detail, in the GDT, participants decide how risky they wish to be on each trial. To optimize performance, participants should make “safe” rather than risky choices. Overall, older adults were riskier than younger adults on the GDT even though they self-report being more risk averse than younger adults in several different risk domains except for social. In regards to the instruction condition, there were no significant age differences in the standard condition. Younger and older adults perform similarly. However, there were age differences in the explicit condition. Older adults were riskier in the explicit condition than younger adults were. In addition, a 3-way interaction between age, instruction, and conscientiousness was discovered. Older adults who are low in conscientiousness perform similar to regular older adults in the standard and explicit conditions. However, the effect of instruction condition disappears for those who are high in conscientiousness.Item Age differences in risky decision making: the effects of priming, personality, & working memory(University of Alabama Libraries, 2014) Wood, Meagan Michelle; Black, Sheila R.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaIn the current study, we examined the effects of priming and personality on risky decision making while playing the Game of Dice Task (GDT). Participants were randomly assigned to one of three priming conditions: Risk Aversive, Risk-Seeking, or Control. In the Risk Seeking condition, a fictional character benefited from risky behavior while in the Risk Aversive condition, a fictional character benefited from exercising caution. In the GDT, participants decide how risky they wish to be on each trial. To optimize performance, one should make "safe" rather than risky choices. Although older adults self-reported being more cautious than younger adults, older adults made riskier decisions than younger adults on the GDT. However, there were no longer significant age differences on the GDT after controlling for working memory. More than likely, the aforementioned age differences were due to age-related changes in effective strategy usage, rather than age-related changes in the propensity to take risks. In addition, for young adults, certain personality traits significantly predicted risky decision making on the GDT. The findings from this study have implications for older adults' decision making in everyday situations. Older adults may make risky decisions and thereby jeopardize their financial and other resources, not because they intentionally want "to roll the dice," but because of an inability to strategize and fully comprehend the consequences of their decisions.