Older adults place lower value on choice relative to young adults

Choice is highly valued in modern society, from the supermarket to the hospital; however, it remains unknown whether older and younger adults place the same value on increased choice. The current investigation tested whether 53 older (M age = 75.44 years) versus 53 younger adults (M age = 19.58 year...

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Published inThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences Vol. 64; no. 4; pp. 443 - 446
Main Authors Mikels, Joseph A, Reed, Andrew E, Simon, Kosali I
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Oxford University Press for Gerontological Society of America 01.06.2009
SeriesJournals of Gerontology: Series B
Subjects
Aged
Attitude
Choice Behavior
Decision Making
Drug Prescriptions
Female
Humans
Male
Medicare
Socioeconomic Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
United States
Volition
Young Adult
United States
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Summary:Choice is highly valued in modern society, from the supermarket to the hospital; however, it remains unknown whether older and younger adults place the same value on increased choice. The current investigation tested whether 53 older (M age = 75.44 years) versus 53 younger adults (M age = 19.58 years) placed lower value on increased choice by examining the monetary amounts they were willing to pay for increased prescription drug coverage options--important given the recently implemented Medicare prescription drug program. Results indicate that older adults placed lower value on increasing choice sets relative to younger adults, who placed progressively higher value on increasingly larger choice sets. These results are discussed regarding their implications for theory and policy.
ISSN:1079-5014
1758-5368
DOI:10.1093/geronb/gbp021