This project consists of two studies involving older adult decision-making that are linked by the common CREATE goal of understanding how older adults make decisions that can significantly impact the quality of their lives in contexts where technology plays a critical role. Study 1's goal is to understand and thus better predict the decisions older adults make with respect to their willingness to adopt technology applications that hold potentially high value in improving their independence and well-being, but which also require expenditure of cognitive effort to adopt. For example, older adults may need to learn a software application to increase their prospects of finding employment or engage in online self-learning activities such as learning a new language. In Study 1, we will recruit 48 participants into 6 focus groups, in English and Spanish, to identify four such applications across three age groups: young-old (65-74), middle-old (75-84), and old-old (85+). We will then test a model containing five facilitators and inhibitors that are predicted, through their interplay and direct influences, to impact the decisions older adults make regarding pursuit of such technologies using 225 participants, 75 from the three age groups. Self-appraisals related to these facilitator/inhibitor variables will also be elicited. Findings from this study will provide valuable insights into theories and guidelines for technology uptake. Study 2 will comprehensively examine the relative roles of six different sources of health information, characterized from most traditional to least traditional (e.g., newspaper, physician advice versus Internet-based guidance, simulated online social network), in influencing the choices that both younger and older people make with regard to both low and high risk healthcare decisions using four healthcare decision making scenarios. Participants will be asked to provide their most preferred decision option from a list of available options, which will be ranked by the research team, including a physician, from best to worst. For each decision problem scenario, participants will also be asked to choose their most preferred source of information from the six sources, and the number of sources they used to support their decision making process. The study will also examine how these choices are impacted by individual characteristics such as age, cognitive abilities, personality, health literacy, numeracy ability, risk attitude, and trust in information source. Study participants will include 50 younger (20-40 years), 50 middle-aged (41-64 years), and 50 older (65+) adults. Findings from this study can be used to help develop a framework for understanding healthcare decision making among older adults.
Although technology can enhance the quality of life of older adults, they often choose not to pursue use of such technologies or, in the case of healthcare decision-making, may make poor choices. The findings from this project are expected to greatly enhance our understanding of why older adults make such decisions and thus provide the basis for interventions to foster adoptions of potentially rewarding technology applications, and to recommend guidelines related to the use of information sources to support health decision making.
| Evans, Jarrett; Charness, Neil; Dijkstra, Katinka et al. (2018) Is episodic memory performance more vulnerable to depressive affect in older adulthood? Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn :1-20 |
| McGlynn, Sean A; Kemple, Shawn; Mitzner, Tracy L et al. (2017) Understanding the Potential of PARO for Healthy Older Adults. Int J Hum Comput Stud 100:33-47 |
| Souders, Dustin J; Best, Ryan; Charness, Neil (2017) Valuation of active blind spot detection systems by younger and older adults. Accid Anal Prev 106:505-514 |
| Rogers, Wendy A; Mitzner, Tracy L (2017) Envisioning the Future for Older Adults: Autonomy, Health, Well-being, and Social Connectedness with Technology Support. Futures 87:133-139 |
| Stuck, Rachel E; Chong, Amy W; Mitzner, Tracy L et al. (2017) Medication Management Apps: Usable by Older Adults? Proc Hum Factors Ergon Soc Annu Meet 61:1141-1144 |
| Charness, Neil (2017) What Has the Study of Digital Games Contributed to the Science of Expert Behavior? Top Cogn Sci 9:510-521 |
| Preusse, Kimberly C; Mitzner, Tracy L; Fausset, Cara Bailey et al. (2017) Older Adults' Acceptance of Activity Trackers. J Appl Gerontol 36:127-155 |
| Barg-Walkow, Laura H; Rogers, Wendy A (2016) The Effect of Incorrect Reliability Information on Expectations, Perceptions, and Use of Automation. Hum Factors 58:242-60 |
| Souders, Dustin J; Boot, Walter R; Charness, Neil et al. (2016) Older Adult Video Game Preferences in Practice: Investigating the Effects of Competing or Cooperating. Games Cult 11:170-120 |
| Charness, Neil; Best, Ryan; Evans, Jarrett (2016) Supportive home health care technology for older adults: Attitudes and implementation. Gerontechnology 15:233-242 |
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