Do We Become More Prosocial as We Age, and if So, Why?. (June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mayr, Ulrich; Freund, Alexandra M.
• Is Part Of: Current directions in psychological science. Volume 29:Number 3(2020)
• Page Start: 248
• Page End: 254
• Publication Date: 2020-06
• Subjects: aging -- prosocial behavior -- motivation -- decision-making -- neuroimaging; Psychology -- Periodicals; 150
• DOI: 10.1177/0963721420910811
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0963-7214

Abstract

Older adults contribute—through charitable donations or volunteering—more to the common good than younger adults, an age difference that has profound society-level implications. Yet the reasons for this difference are not well understood. Evidence suggests that a purely altruistic concern for the common good is a major motivation for prosocial behavior and that this concern increases across adulthood. We argue that this finding, and prosocial behavior in general, is better understood using a value-based decision framework than through traditional dual-process accounts. Following the value-based decision approach, we derive specific hypotheses about life-span changes in motivation or resources as factors that explain why older adults show an increased concern for the well-being of other people.