Aging and decision making - Term Paper Example

? Aging and Decision Making Insert Insert Grade Insert Insert While it must be considered that age advancement is inevitable, it comes with numerous challenges. Such challenges can be overcome when necessary measures are put in place to ensure that adults’ important brains do not go down the drain. Adults form the most important members of the society. The current society looks upon them for important decision making not only at the family level but also at national level. This essay will strive to tackle some of the challenges associated with aging, and shed light on people’s perception of aging on decision-making. The essay will also try to give some of the possible remedies for adults’ aging conditions associated with memory lapses or regression. According to majority of people’s conventional way of reasoning, one’s ability to make proper decisions decreases with increase in age. With most experiments, that have been done so far, most results have shown that the degree of decision-making is not linked in any way with a person’s age. What most researchers have indicated is that how fast one makes decision depends on two major things. One is how quick that decision needs to be made; older adults are known to make slow but careful decision after much thought than their younger counterparts. They refer to this as wisdom. Some scholars have however refuted this claim indicating that most of the researchers carrying out such evaluations have remained bias. The other one depends on the nature of the decision to be made. While it can be argued that decision-making is largely contributed by age of an individual, as a matter of fact, I feel that the nature of the decision is crucial when gauging the time taken to make a particular decision. Certain decisions require time in order to make the correct judgments unlike others that may be made instantly. It must be, however, understood that this factor also does not relate to the age of an individual. Young people are likely to make quick decisions if that decision is associated with or is likely to yield immediate rewards. This is contrary to older adults whose decision making process is not pertained to immediate rewards, rather by their pre frontal cortices which largely helps them to make judgment after careful thinking (Rafaely, Dror & Remington, 2006). Time as determinant factor in making decisions plays an important role in lives of both young and old adults. As time elapses for making decisions or choosing between alternatives, one is always at a risk of compromising the making of the best decision and a proper one for that matter. At that level, one is bound to ignore so many alternatives, picking only that which looks convenient however improper the decision may seem to be. This is always done based on the prevailing circumstances that influence such decisions. In that case, both the young and the aging adults would prefer few choices in order to choose the most suitable. The major problem that comes with decision making in adults is that they tend to rely mostly on heuristics effects, as they get older to make decision. As it is commonly known, society largely depends on old adults in decision making at every level of the society. Their wisdom cannot be downplayed by anyone. Many societies look up to them not only for moral support but also for crucial decision-making. It must be acknowledged that decision-making processes in adults may vary with health related factors, which hamper normal brain functioning. It may also vary depending on genetic line of an individual. Generally, some people greatly rely on heuristic abilities to make proper judgments as opposed to others. Some adults take time to make decisions while others are bound to rush during the process of decision-making (Dror, Katona & Mungur, 1998). Nevertheless, it is not important how long one takes to make decisions but rather, how one is capable of making rational and forthright decisions at critical times. Making right decisions is a challenge not only to old people, but to majority in the world. Various efforts have been suggested by scientists to curb the continuing problem of decision-making that comes with advancement in age. A number of suggestions have in fact helped most people who have had difficulties in making right decisions be it those related to personal finance or health care services. It is thus necessary to look at a few possible solutions that can help such individuals. One important aspect is helping them build trust in us. When older people are given an opportunity to express their views freely, they are likely to develop confidence when making decisions. They will feel a sense of belonging if younger people give them the kind of trust they deserve. This is likely to boost their level of self worth. Ignoring them in any decision making is unethical since it is likely to be followed by mistrust. Making them feel important has a way of boosting their ego hence make them stay mentally younger for quite some time. Health related factors are also major causes of the problem of decision making in aging adults. Many diseases are associated with aging. Some of them cause memory lapses. This does not mean that adults suffering from health related diseases should not be given a chance to articulate their decisions. In most family set ups, decisions of adults are very much sought after in issues that need very great attention. It is important for family members to provide support for the aging family members who might be suffering from various ailments. In case of persistent disease that may not be fully cured, such conditions do not bar older people from making personal choices. It is upon the family members to help in providing support for the aging relative. Family members can as well assist him in making decisions that could be touching on his life or other issues (Kim, 2000). Mood also affects the way an aging adult makes decisions. While moods depend on the intrinsic conditions of an individual, aging adults are known to be moody most of the time. In order to help them make correct decisions, family members should be able to have patience with these adults. Understanding them and knowing whether they are happy or not is necessary. Family members should learn how to cope with them because at that time it is when the aging adults experience tremendous mood swings that result from depressions. Older adults will also likely forget about what has just been said immediately or they are likely to repeat the same questions posed. Resolutely, ageing adults can be assisted to make personal decisions. This can be done through offering informal support networks by friends and neighbors, who can voluntarily help financially and through giving a listening ear since strong and mature decisions are likely to be made when people come up together to share their views on a particular issue. This is useful, for instance, when the ageing adult wants to make a decision on personal savings, health, personal budget as well as physical support. This leaves them in a position to appreciate every supportive efforts directed towards them. Appreciating their efforts in decision-making leaves them feeling important and accepted. The moment you try to appreciate them and give them recognition, this makes them feel relevant in the society and that has a way of helping them improve on their cognitive abilities. Through that, the ageing adults will make it a habit to gain and acquire useful information which is necessary for the development of the entire society. In light of a possible strain on family members in offering support to aging adults in decision making, it is important to seek the support of non family members who may be willing to be part of support team to give guidance and general support to the aging adults. It might be discovered that the aging family members may have trust in the outsiders or strangers as opposed to their relatives, since most of them usually feel that they are a burden to their family members. This does not only help the aging adult but also the family members who will have to get relieved of the financial burden associated with having to look after these aging adults (Devettere, 2010). Focusing on health care, many adults prefer fewer choices in choosing health care policy options than young adults. This tendency of aging adults requiring fewer choices between alternatives is as a result of emotional detachment of the aging with decrease in metacognitive recognition of decision making. Though decision-making remains an important aspect in our everyday lives. Need to make personal decision especially among young people is emotionally driven as opposed to adults. That is why most ageing adults will always take time to make decisions as they put many considerations into effect (Reed, Mikels & Simon, 2008). In trying to understand how aging affects decision-making, we find that despite the fact that ageing affects decision-making, ability to recall events and make decisions are compensated by dendrite growth in the brain that act as back up for being able to recall and be able to make personal choices in life. Many research studies also show that risk-taking decisions do not show any major decline as one grows older. What is widely known to contribute to this decline is factors related to health. This includes all the biological changes that take place in the brain because of advancement in age; thus, causing neurological degradation. In conclusion, proper health care and conducive environment should be provided to ageing adults in order to prevent early loss of memory and ability to make assertive decisions. Even though memory and forgetting are problems associated with advancement in age, such problems are preventable with proper medical care. Assisting the ageing population should be everyone’s burden so that they do not feel detached from the love that a family should be able to give. References Devettere, R.J. (2010). Practical decision making in health care ethics: cases and concepts. Washington, D.C: Georgetown University Press. Dror, I., Katona, M. & Mungur, K. (1998). Age differences in decision making: To take a risk or not? Gerontology, 44, (2), 67-71. Kim, J. (2000). Mind in a physical world: an essay on the mind-body problem and mental causation. New York: MIT Press Rafaely, V., Dror, I. & Remington, B. (2006). Information selectivity in decision making by young and older adults. International Journal of Psychology, 41, (2), 117-131. Reed, A. E., Mikels, J. A., & Simon, K. I. (2008). Older adults prefer less choice than young adults. Psychology and Aging, 23, (1), 671 –675. Read More