The Impact Of Problem Situations And Task Areas On The Frame Effect Of Older People

Framing effect is a phenomenon that an individual has different preference to the alternative programs when the same problem is framed in different ways. In recent years, the age differences of framing effect gradually get the attention of the researchers, whether older people show the same framing effect as young people is still controversial. Previous researches showed that different problem situations and task areas affect the framing effect in some degree. So in this study, we tried to explore how these two factors make influences on the framing effect of the old adults.The whole study was departed into two parts, study land 2. Study 1 referred to the gain situation in risk decision-making, which chose 240 younger adults and 240 older adults in Nanjing city, and study 2 referred to the loss situation in risk decision-making, which chose 240 younger adults and 240 older adults who were different with the participants in Study 1. Both of the studies adapted and edited "Asian disease problem" and "shopping vouchers problem" as the experimental materials in the life and money decision-making. The two studies were both 2 (task areas:life or money) x 2 (frame: positive or frame) x 2 (age:old or young) between-subjects design, which discussed the framing effect of the old adults in different problem situations and tasks areas.The results showed that:(1) When facing the life decision-making in the gain situation, older adults showed an unidirectional (risk averse) framing effect, while the younger adults failed to show any framing effect.(2) When facing the life decision-making in the loss situation, older adults showed typical bidirectional framing effect, while younger adults showed an unidirectional (risk seek) framing effect, but the two age groups were almost equally susceptible to framing effect. When facing the money decision-making in the loss situation, older adults showed a unidirectional (risk averse) framing effect, while younger adults showed typical bidirectional framing effect, but older adults were more susceptible than younger adults to framing.(3) In the loss situation, whenever facing life or money decision-making, older adults showed significant gender differences in framing effect. When facing the life decision-making, the older men failed to show framing effect, but older women showed a bidirectional framing effect; when facing the money decision-making, older men showed bidirectional framing effect, however older women failed to show framing effect.(4) Older adults were more susceptible to framing when facing life decision-making than facing money decision-making in the gain or loss situation.There were some main conclusions as follows:(1) Framing effect of older adults were affected by question situations and task areas. They were more susceptible to framing in the loss situation than in the gain situation, and also more susceptible to framing when facing life decision-making than facing money decision-making.(2) When facing the life and money decision-making in different situation, the older and younger adults differ in framing effect, mainly in susceptibility and type.(3) Older and younger adults showed the gender differences of framing effect only in the loss situation, and such differences were affected by different task areas.