Adult age differences in the integration of value for self and other

Tue-P3-Poster II-105

Presented by: Lena Pollerhoff

Lena Pollerhoff ^{1, 2}, Anne Saulin ³, Marcel Kurtz ⁴, Julia Stietz ⁴, Philipp Kanske ^{4, 5}, Shu-Chen Li ^{1, 6}, Andrea M.F. Reiter ^{1, 2, 7}

¹ Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany, ² Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, ³ Translational Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, ⁴ Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany, ⁵ Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany, ⁶ Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany, ⁷ German Centre of Prevention Research on Mental Health, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

Meta-analytical evidence suggest that older adults exhibit more prosocial behavior than younger adults. However, the underlying factors explaining such behavioral differences in adult age are not clear. Theories of prosocial behavior propose that prosocial choices might require cognitive control. We aimed to characterize prosocial behavior and the influence of cognitive functioning and control in younger and older individuals. Sixty-three younger (18-30 y., YA) and 48 older adults (65-78 y., OA) participated in a modified dictator game, in which they had to decide whether or not to accept offers that split money between themselves and a partner. Further, a battery of cognitive functioning and control tasks was performed. Preliminary results indicate differences in integrating monetary values for oneself and the other as a function of age group: YAs’ choices to accept an offer were modulated by both, the amount of money they as well as the other would receive for a specific offer. In contrast, OA exclusively considered their own potential gains when deciding to accept. Further, YAs’ reaction times (RTs) were modulated by an interaction of value for self and other, whereas OAs’ RTs were only modulated by their own potential gain. Preliminary results do not indicate moderation effects of cognitive functioning or control in choice behavior. With respect to RTs, the interaction of value for self and other was moderated by crystallized abilities in YA and fluid abilities in OA. We discuss these findings in light of the prosocial growth hypothesis and lifespan approaches.

Keywords: prosocial behavior, prosociality, adult lifespan, adult development, executive functioning, cognitive control, decision making