Strough, J, Bruine de Bruin, W orcid.org/0000-0002-1601-789X and Parker, AM (2019) Taking the Biggest First: Age Differences in Preferences for Monetary and Hedonic Sequences. Journals of Gerontology - Series B, 74 (6). gbx160. pp. 964-974. ISSN 1079-5014
Abstract
Objectives:
People face decisions about how to sequence payments and events, including when to schedule bigger events relative to smaller ones. We examine age differences in these sequence preferences.
Methods:
We gave a national adult life-span sample (n = 1,296, mean = 53.06 years, standard deviation = 16.33) four scenarios describing a positive or negative hedonic (enjoyable weekends, painful dental procedures) or monetary (receiving versus paying money) event. We considered associations among age, sequence preferences, three self-reported decision-making processes—emphasizing experience, emotion, and reasoning—and two dimensions of future time perspective—focusing on future opportunities and limited time.
Results:
Older age was associated with taking the “biggest” event sooner instead of later, especially for receiving money, but also for the other three scenarios. Older age was associated with greater reported use of reason and experience and lesser reported use of emotion. These decision-making processes played a role in understanding age differences in sequence preferences, but future time perspective did not.
Discussion:
We discuss “taking the biggest first” preferences in light of prior mixed findings on age differences in sequence preferences. We highlight the distinct roles of experience- and emotion-based decision-making processes. We propose applications to financial and health-care settings.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article published in "The Journals of Gerontology: Series B" following peer review. The version of record; "Taking the Biggest First: Age Differences in Preferences for Monetary and Hedonic Sequences" is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx160 |
Keywords: | Decision making, Event sequences, Experience, Emotion, Future time perspective |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Business (Leeds) > Management Division (LUBS) (Leeds) > Management Division Decision Research (LUBS) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EU - European Union PCIG13-GA-2013-618522 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 17 Nov 2017 09:52 |
Last Modified: | 02 Sep 2019 12:45 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/geronb/gbx160 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:124099 |