SOCIAL COGNITION AND AGING

这项研究考察了与衰老相关的认知功能变化， 目的是了解不同年龄的成年人如何代表 在社交环境中获取信息，然后在 做决定。假设获取和获取的能力 准确地表示来自社会背景的信息是一个重要的 适应性功能的预测者。许多与以下内容相关的信息 日常运作(例如，医疗、金融、消费) 通过与其他人的互动传播(例如，医生、财务人员 规划师、销售员)。因此，了解其影响非常重要 在这种情况下，衰老可能会对推理产生影响。在这项研究中， 老龄化对社会认知的影响有两大类 功能已确定。第一个问题与基本认知有关 流程。据推测，衰老与这种能力的下降有关。 流程，这反映在较旧的 成年人可以控制注意力，并对记忆中的信息进行操作。它 假设这种变化会导致：(A)能力下降 对社交互通中传输的信息进行准确编码； 以及(B)与无意识过程相关的偏见的增加 在这样的情况下运作。第二个影响与 与衰老相关的生活变化相关的激励因素 情况。据推测，年龄的增长与 认知目标的变化，进而影响注意力 致力于信息来源和参与程度 认知活动。在这项研究中，年龄从20岁到80岁的成年人将 在实验室的社交情景模拟中进行测试，以检查 这两种影响对表征和决策的影响 制作。将进行与特定年龄相关的实验 因素被隔离和操纵，以衡量它们对 性能。观察到的与年龄相关的差异也将被检验。 与能力、健康和其他背景因素有关，以便 更好地理解潜在的因果机制。长期目标是 将描述老龄化对社会的影响的模型的开发 认识和提供处理潜在问题的药方

This research examines aging-related changes in cognitive functioning, with the goal of understanding how different-aged adults represent information acquired in social contexts and then use this information in making decisions. It is assumed that the ability to acquire and accurately represent information from social contexts is an important predictor of adaptive functioning. Much information relating to everyday functioning (e.g., medical, financial, consumer) is transmitted through interactions with others (e.g., Physicians, financial planners, salespersons). Thus, it is important to understand the impact that aging might have on reasoning in such contexts. In this research, two broad categories of aging-related influences on social-cognitive functioning are identified. The first has to do with basic cognitive processes. It is assumed that aging is associated with a decline in such processes, as reflected in decreases in the efficiency with which older adults can control attention and operate on information in memory. It is hypothesized that such changes lead to: (a) a reduction in the ability to accurately encode information transmitted in social interchanges; and (b) an increase in biases associated with nonconscious processes that operate in such situations. The second influence has to do with motivational factors associated with aging-related changes in life circumstances. It is hypothesized that increasing age is associated with changes in cognitive goals which, in turn, influence the attention devoted to information sources and the degree of engagement in cognitive activity. In this research, adults aged from 20 to 80 will be tested in laboratory analogues of social situations to examine the impact to these two types of influences on representation and decision making. Experiments will be conducted in which specific age-related factors are isolated and manipulated in order to gauge their impact on performance. Observed age-related differences will also be examined in relation to ability, health, and other contextual factors in order to better understand potential causal mechanisms. The long-term goal is the development of a model that will describe aging effects on social cognition and provide prescriptions for dealing with potential problems