Would YOU want to know if your partner was cheating on you? Older people are more likely than youngsters to choose to ignore information that would have an emotional impact on them, study finds
- Researchers interviewed 2,000 people aged over 21 about life event scenarios
- These events included the date of their own death and if a spouse might cheat
- They then looked at how often people say 'prefer not to know' to create a score
- Those in the age bracket 51-60 were least likely to want to know future events
Older people are more likely to choose to ignore information that could prove to be emotionally difficult to hear than younger people, according to a new study.
More than 2,000 German adults, aged 21 and over, were asked whether they'd want prior knowledge of, and information on, different life events by experts from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Germany.
These events included the date of their own death, whether their future spouse would cheat on them and their genetic predisposition for various diseases.
The responses allowed the team to create a 'deliberate ignorance score' for each volunteer, based on the percentage of times they said they'd 'prefer not to know'.
They looked at the scores per age group, from 21-30 up to 81-99, finding those aged 51-60 were the most likely to say they'd 'prefer not to know' about future events.
Older people are more likely to choose to ignore information that could prove to be emotionally difficult to hear than younger people, according to a new study. Stock image
More than two millennia ago Aristotle wrote 'all men, by nature, desire to know,' and the German researchers wanted to find out if this adage was true.
Study author Ralph Hertwig and colleagues found that there were times when we'd rather not know the truth, and that older people were more prone to do this.
This was particularly the case when it came to news or information that would be emotionally difficult - whether the impact was positive or negative.
Volunteers were asked whether they want to know the outcome of 13 scenarios, as well as their age and gender.
The scenarios included knowledge of the date of their own death, the faithfulness of a future spouse, colleagues’ bonus payments, genetic predisposition for various diseases, and the authenticity of a supposedly valuable statue in their possession.
The final item they were asked whether they wanted to know about was the gender nd appearance of a job application.
This last item was to see how they might respond to knowledge that would otherwise be avoided in a bid to to avoid showing bias - rather than to elicit an emotional response, as with the more personal scenarios.
In all but the job applicant scenario, the likelihood of a volunteer saying they'd prefer not to know saw a substantial increase with age.
Regardless of age, the volunteers held the strong opinion that information on a job applicant's age and appearance should remain private.
To see whether the personality trait of openness made a difference to the lack of interest, the research team also examined this trait in each of the volunteers.
Openness is linked to being receptive to challenging thoughts and emotions, and also is known to decline with age.
However, they didn't find any link between openness and age in their data, despite finding older people were less respective to bad news.
The team predict that in older adults, who have less time to live, the usefulness of certain types of information is reduced compared to younger people who have much longer to live.
More than 2,000 German adults, aged 21 and over, were asked whether they'd want prior knowledge of, and information on, different life events by experts from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Germany. Stock image
This was particularly obvious when it came to health-related items, including knowing their date of death, and the largest difference was between the oldest and youngest groups.
“Socioemotional selectivity theory,' is the other potential cause, according to the researchers, is where people perceive their futures to be wide open are more likely to priorities goals that related to the future, including information gathering.
'But when people see their future as being more limited — and older people belong to this group — they focus more on the present, and, for them, emotional satisfaction is more of a priority,' the team explained.
They say older people may seek to minimise the risk of receiving potentially negative information, even if it means they miss out on positive information.
The findings have been published in the journal Psychology and Aging.
WHAT DIET AND LIFESTYLE TIPS MAINTAIN BRAIN HEALTH IN OLD AGE?
Scientists have unveiled diet and lifestyle tips that maintain brain health in old age.
According to researchers from around the world 'what's good for the heart is good for the brain'.
They add that no single food acts as a 'silver bullet' for improving or maintaining brain health.
The experts have put together the following diet and lifestyle advice to help people preserve their brain health as they age.
Eating plenty of berries helps maintain people's brain health as they get older
Eat plenty of:
- Berries
- Fresh vegetables, particularly leafy greens
- Healthy fats, such as extra-virgin olive oil
- Nuts
- Fish and seafood
Include the following in your diet:
- Beans and other legumes
- Fruit
- Low-fat dairy
- Poultry
- Grains
Red meat consumption should be limited
Limit intakes of:
- Fried food
- Pastries
- Processed foods
- Red meat
- Full-fat dairy
- Salt
Other tips:
- Stay active
- Avoid overeating
- Eat at least one meal a week with fish that is not deep fried
- Watch out for salt levels in pre-made food
- Use lemon, vinegar, herbs and spices to flavour food over salt
- Snack on raw, plain, unsalted nuts
- Eat vegetables with a range of different colours
- Prepare meals from scratch
Eleven researchers from the Global Council on Brain Health, including experts from the University of Exeter, met on September 12-to-13 2017 to discuss the impact of diet on the brain health of adults over 50.
Their recommendations are based on the evaluation of studies investigating the impact of nutrients on the cognitive function of older adults.
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