Western Kentucky University
Aging and the Revision of Causal Beliefs
Institution
Western Kentucky University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Sharon Mutter; Leslie Plumlee
Abstract
Differences in younger and older adults’ ability to update causal beliefs were investigated using a food allergy prediction task. In the baseline phase of the task, individual food cues were presented and participants indicated whether they thought the food caused an allergic reaction. In the training phase, compound cues consisting of two food cues were presented and participants learned whether the foods together did or did not cause an allergic reaction. Next, cues consisting of one food from each compound cue were presented and participants learned whether this food alone did or did not cause an allergic reaction. Then participants re-rated the causal effectiveness of all food cues as was done during the baseline phase. Finally, participants’ recognition of compound food cues was tested. Initial baseline causal ratings were the same across age and younger and older adults showed equal learning for the food allergy relationships in both compound and single cue training. However, single cue training with a food cue from the compound led younger adults to revise their beliefs about the causal effectiveness of the other food in the compound; this did not happen for older adults although they remembered the compound cues as well as young adults. These results suggest that older adults are able to learn associations between causal cues and outcomes, but are less able to discover or use a “revaluation rule”. This finding is consistent with research showing that reasoning capabilities decline with age.
Aging and the Revision of Causal Beliefs
Differences in younger and older adults’ ability to update causal beliefs were investigated using a food allergy prediction task. In the baseline phase of the task, individual food cues were presented and participants indicated whether they thought the food caused an allergic reaction. In the training phase, compound cues consisting of two food cues were presented and participants learned whether the foods together did or did not cause an allergic reaction. Next, cues consisting of one food from each compound cue were presented and participants learned whether this food alone did or did not cause an allergic reaction. Then participants re-rated the causal effectiveness of all food cues as was done during the baseline phase. Finally, participants’ recognition of compound food cues was tested. Initial baseline causal ratings were the same across age and younger and older adults showed equal learning for the food allergy relationships in both compound and single cue training. However, single cue training with a food cue from the compound led younger adults to revise their beliefs about the causal effectiveness of the other food in the compound; this did not happen for older adults although they remembered the compound cues as well as young adults. These results suggest that older adults are able to learn associations between causal cues and outcomes, but are less able to discover or use a “revaluation rule”. This finding is consistent with research showing that reasoning capabilities decline with age.