Summary: New research shows people aged 60 and over are more likely than younger adults to be swayed by other people’s impulsive financial choices. The study found that older participants, particularly those who report stronger emotional empathy, tended to change their own preferences toward immediate, smaller rewards after observing impulsive decisions by others. Younger adults, by contrast, were more likely to maintain their initial choices.
Understanding how social influence and delayed gratification change across the lifespan can help design interventions that protect older adults from harmful financial persuasion and support better long-term decision-making.
Key facts:
- Older adults are more susceptible to others’ impulsive financial preferences than younger adults.
- Younger adults tend to resist social pressure and hold to their original financial preferences.
- Among older adults, higher affective (emotional) empathy is linked with greater susceptibility to impulsive social influence.
Source: University of Birmingham
Older adults show greater social susceptibility when it comes to impulsive financial decisions
A collaborative study from the University of Birmingham and the University of Oxford, published in Communications Psychology, examined how age influences choices about immediate versus delayed monetary rewards and how those choices change after seeing other people’s decisions. The researchers recruited 154 participants divided into two age groups: 76 younger adults aged 18–36 and 78 older adults aged 60–80. Participants were matched on gender, intelligence, and years of education, and older participants were screened to ensure healthy cognitive ageing.
Participants completed a decision-making task that presented repeated choices between two financial options: an impulsive option that paid a smaller amount immediately, and a patient option that paid a larger amount after a delay. Because one decision would be implemented as a real bonus payment at the end of the experiment, participants had real financial incentives to reveal their true preferences.
After an initial set of choices, each participant observed the decisions of two purported previous participants. One set of observed choices consistently favored immediate, impulsive rewards, while the other favored delayed, patient rewards. These demonstrator choices were computer-generated but represented two contrasting social influences. Participants then completed the decision task again, allowing researchers to measure how much their preferences shifted after social exposure.
Using advanced computational modeling, the team precisely quantified each individual’s discounting of delayed rewards and how much that discounting changed following exposure to impulsive or patient social models. The results were clear: older adults were more likely to shift toward impulsive choices after observing a demonstrator who repeatedly selected immediate rewards. Younger adults were comparatively resistant to that influence and largely retained their initial preferences.
The study also collected self-reported measures of emotional experience and empathy. Among older participants, higher affective empathy—an increased tendency to share and feel others’ emotions—was associated with greater change toward impulsive choices after observing impulsive social behavior. In other words, older adults who are more emotionally responsive to others were more likely to adopt those others’ impulsive financial preferences.
Professor Patricia Lockwood, senior author from the University of Birmingham, emphasized the practical implications: “In an era of an ageing population and increasing misinformation, it is crucial to understand how ageing affects people’s susceptibility to influence. One key area where people may be influenced is in their preferences for receiving money sooner rather than later. This knowledge is vital for developing interventions to ensure people make good financial choices across their lives.”
Lead author Zhilin Su highlighted the contemporary relevance: “In an era of high levels of misinformation on social media it is crucial to understand the science behind social influence so we can make a meaningful and positive impact on people’s lives.”
Implications for policy and practice
These findings have direct relevance for financial education, consumer protection, and public policy aimed at older adults. Programs designed to strengthen decision-making resilience could account for the greater impact of social cues on older people and consider strategies that reduce exposure to impulsive economic messaging. Screening for emotional susceptibility or offering decision aids that emphasize long-term benefits may help older adults avoid impulsive financial choices prompted by social influence.
Further research is needed to test interventions and to explore how real-world social environments—such as family, peer groups, and social media—shape financial decisions across the lifespan. Confirming these laboratory findings in naturalistic settings would help tailor evidence-based support so people can make better financial choices at every age.
Author: Tony Moran
Source: University of Birmingham
Contact: Tony Moran – University of Birmingham
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: The findings appear in Communications Psychology