Age Differences in Consulting Others During Decision Making

Many choices are made in the context of one's social network, but age differences in consulting others during decision making remain underexplored. This preregistered study examined age differences in the composition of decision-related social networks and associated social preferences and motivations. Based on prior findings regarding age differences in information-seeking and socioemotional preferences, we predicted that with advanced age people would consult fewer and more emotionally close social partners, consult them less frequently, rate consultations as more helpful, and prioritize social goals during decision making.

An adult lifespan sample (N = 485; Mage = 51.08; SDage = 19.63, rangeage = 18-96 years) considered hypothetical choices and reported how many and what types of people they would consult and how often they would consult them. They also identified their most important decision consultants and evaluated interactions with those individuals.

As predicted, age was associated with consulting fewer people less frequently and this was not explained by having a smaller range of potential consultants in one's network. Contrary to predictions, the proportion of close social partners in decision networks and the perceived helpfulness of consultants did not vary significantly by age. Moreover, older adults were less likely than younger adults to prioritize relationship quality over decision quality. Controlling for potential covariates did not diminish the observed age effects.

These findings align with the prior literature on age-related decrements in pre-decisional information seeking but suggest that age-related preferences for close social partners and socioemotional goals do not extend to decision-related consultations.