Thinking About Strategies During, Before, and After Making a Decision

Two studies examined the impact of think-aloud and self-report instructions on the decision-making performance of young and older adults. Findings from Study 1 indicated that think-aloud instructions increased total time to decision for young and older adults but did not otherwise affect decision-making processes. Counter to predictions, the only significant interaction effect indicated that young adults in the think-aloud condition more frequently rechecked information than older adults. Findings from Study 2 confirmed the nonreactive nature of self-report methods. Despite potential age-related decrements in cognitive function, differences in functioning are not compounded and cannot be explained by the think-aloud or self-report instructions used by cognitive aging researchers.