Difficulty in differentiating trustworthiness from untrustworthiness in older age

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Older adults often report higher trust levels than younger adults, particularly in close relationships.
• While beneficial when reciprocated, heightened trust can be detrimental if exploited, impacting well-being and financial security.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate age-related differences in trust and investment behavior in a repeated trust game.
• To examine how social distance and trustee trustworthiness influence investment decisions across age groups.
• To explore the relationship between cognitive factors, financial well-being, and trust in older adults.

Main Methods:

• A repeated trust game was employed with young (n=35) and older adults (n=33).
• Participants invested real money with trustees varying in social distance (close, neutral, distant) and trustworthiness (trustworthy, untrustworthy).
• Learning, investment patterns, and confirmation bias were analyzed across repeated interactions.

Main Results:

• Both age groups learned to adjust investments based on trustee behavior, investing more with trustworthy and less with untrustworthy individuals.
• Older adults, on average, invested more across all trustee types, except for close, highly trustworthy trustees.
• Higher intelligence correlated with greater investment in trustworthy trustees among older adults; better financial well-being was linked to increased investment in untrustworthy trustees.

Conclusions:

• Older adults exhibit a generalized increase in trust, potentially overlooking trustworthiness cues, especially in financial decisions.
• While both age groups show confirmation bias, it is more pronounced in younger adults.
• The findings highlight potential financial risks for older adults due to a reduced sensitivity to untrustworthy signals.