De Bruin, W. B., Parker, A. M., & Fischhoff, B. (2020).
Current Directions in Psychological Science,
29(2), 186–192.
Abstract
Decision-making competence refers to the ability to make better decisions, as defined by decision-making principles posited by models of rational choice. Historically, psychological research on decision-making has examined how well people follow these principles under carefully manipulated experimental conditions. When individual differences received attention, researchers often assumed that individuals with higher fluid intelligence would perform better. Here, we describe the development and validation of individual-differences measures of decision-making competence. Emerging findings suggest that decision-making competence may tap not only into fluid intelligence but also into motivation, emotion regulation, and experience (or crystallized intelligence). Although fluid intelligence tends to decline with age, older adults may be able to maintain decision-making competence by leveraging age-related improvements in these other skills. We discuss implications for interventions and future research.
Here are some thoughts:
This article explores the concept of decision-making competence, or the ability to make good decisions, as defined by principles of rational choice. The authors highlight the development and validation of measures to assess decision-making competence, suggesting that it involves more than just fluid intelligence and includes aspects like motivation, emotion regulation, and experience. They then analyze age differences in decision-making competence, finding that older adults may perform better than younger adults on some tasks due to their greater experience. The article concludes with implications for interventions to improve decision-making competence, proposing strategies that target cognitive skills, motivation, emotion regulation, and experience. The authors aim to provide a more nuanced understanding of how decision-making competence develops and how it can be enhanced, ultimately promoting better decision-making and improved well-being across the lifespan.
