Adult Age and Cautiousness in Decision

After a brief description of the hypotheses proposed to account for adult-age differences in cautiousness, this article reviews findings from eight cross-sectional investigations. Adult-age differences were observed on the choice dilemmas instrument (the predominant methodology) only in the case when adults were permitted to refrain from responding to the life situations depicted in the items. In recent research, using behavioral measures of risk-taking, adult-age differences have been found. Need for achievement was posited to be an important intervening variable in understanding the context in which adult age differences in cautiousness emerge. Several areas of pertinent research were identified.