Consumer decision making and aging: Current knowledge and future directions

We review existing knowledge about older consumers and decision making. We develop a conceptual framework that incorporates the notion of fit between individual characteristics, task demands and the contextual environment. When the fit is high, older consumers use their considerable knowledge and experience to compensate for the impact of any age-related changes in abilities and resources. When the fit is relatively low, older consumers feel increased need to adapt their decision making processes. We discuss these consumer adaptations and propose a number of research questions related to the processes underlying them in order to contribute to a better understanding of how they can lead to more effective consumer decision making for older adults. We further consider some pragmatic implications of the adaptations for marketing management and public policy.     

On intuitional stability: The clear,the strong,and the paradigmatic

Skepticism about the epistemic value of intuition in theoretical and philosophical inquiry has recently been bolstered by empirical research suggesting that people’s concrete-case intuitions are vulnerable to irrational biases (e.g., the order effect). What is more, skeptics argue that we have no way to “calibrate” our intuitions against these biases and no way of anticipating intuitional instability. This paper challenges the skeptical position, introducing data from two studies that suggest not only that people’s concrete-case intuitions are often stable, but also that people have introspective awareness of this stability, providing a promising means by which to assess the epistemic value of our intuitions.     

Individual Quality of Life Among at Risk Indigenous Youth in Australia

This paper reports the findings from a pilot study in which the Schedule for Individual Quality of Life (SEIQoL-DW) was used to determine how 15 at-risk Indigenous Australian male youths aged between 14 and 19 conceptualised their quality of life. The youths, who were referred with problems associated with drug and alcohol misuse and criminal activity, were attending a diversionary program run by an Indigenous organisation in the Northern Territory, Australia. Quality of life was measured before and at the end of the nine-day programme in order to evaluate outcomes. Program staff found the SEIQoL-DW to be particularly useful in identifying culturally specific quality of life domains, allowing interventions to focus on improving the life areas that were of particular value to individuals as well as recognizing any deficits in their understanding the options available to them. While a control group was not used, mean SEIQoL-DW scores increased significantly over the course of the program.