The study published in the journal PLOS Biology by researchers from the University of Würzburg, Germany, explores the differences in decision-making between adolescents and adults. The findings suggest that adults tend to make better decisions than adolescents, which leads to an increase in specific and more sophisticated choice behaviors. This improvement in decision-making is attributed to a decrease in decision noise, or the tendency to choose suboptimal options.
Adolescents undergo developmental changes in specific choice behaviors, such as goal-directed behaviors and motivational influences over choice. They also exhibit high levels of decision noise, which may impact their ability to make optimal decisions. The study aimed to investigate whether these observations are independent or related, and whether age-dependent changes in decision noise might influence the development of specific choice processes.
To test these ideas, the researchers analyzed data from 93 participants between 12 and 42 years of age. The participants completed three reinforcement learning tasks that assessed motivational influences over choices, adaptive decision-making in response to environmental changes, and goal-directed behavior. The results showed that noise levels were strongly correlated across tasks, and that noise levels mediated age-dependent increases in more sophisticated choice behaviors and performance gains.
The findings suggest that unspecific noise may play a role in mediating the development of highly specific functions or strategies in decision-making. One possible explanation for these mediation effects is the limited availability of cognitive resources in adolescents, due to ongoing development of brain areas related to cognitive control. This limitation may make adolescents more prone to relying on computationally cheaper decision strategies, making them more susceptible to emotional, motivational, and social influences.
The study provides new insights into the computational processes underlying developmental changes in decision-making. The researchers suggest that future work could further explore the neural basis of decision noise, as well as its relevance for neurodevelopmental disorders. The authors highlight that as teenagers age, they tend to make less noisy decisions, which is linked to the development of improved complex decision-making skills such as planning and flexibility.
Overall, the study contributes to our understanding of how decision-making abilities change from adolescence to adulthood. By linking age-dependent changes in decision noise to the development of specific choice processes, the researchers shed light on the mechanisms underlying improved decision-making skills in adults. The findings suggest that as individuals grow older, they may become better able to make optimal decisions by reducing noise and developing more sophisticated strategies.
