Eliany Perez

Initial visual impressions guide judgment and decision-making in social contexts, and social cues, such as facial trustworthiness, may bias choices by influencing individuals to prioritize appearance over actual behavioral outcomes. Key challenges for research in this field include clarifying the extent to which decision-making and learning under uncertainty are affected (1) by facial cues of trustworthiness vs. untrustworthiness, (2) by the congruence vs. incongruence of face-based visual cues and behavioral outcomes, and (3) in a social relative to a non-social decision context. This study used the Social Iowa Gambling Task (S-IGT), an adaptation of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Extending traditional decision-making paradigms by systematically integrating several novel aspects, the S-IGT features: 1) the experimental manipulation of facial cues perceived as trustworthy vs. untrustworthy and 2) the incorporation of decision options paired with congruent (CS-IGT) vs. incongruent (IS-IGT) social cues; and was used here in combination with 3) a non-social/neutral control condition (the standard IGT). Across 558 participants, we found that initial performance in the CS-IGT was higher than in the other two task conditions, yet participants’ learning progress diminished over time in the CS-IGT. These findings suggest that while social cues of facial trustworthiness may support early decision-making, they also may encourage reliance on initial impressions over feedback-driven exploration, thus crucially influencing choice and learning trajectories under uncertainty in social contexts. The results further highlight the complex role of visual facial and behavior-based information congruence vs. incongruence in dynamic social decision environments.

Everyday situations require us to face a trade-off to inform our decisions: exploit known information or explore for new information. Although both have risks, empirical research has not shown whether individuals prefer exploring or exploiting across contexts. In the present study, we examined the explore-exploit trade-off as a theoretical framework across two broad domains: decision making and spatial navigation. In this registered report, we applied computational modeling to human behavior on a novel version of the Iowa gambling task to predict behavior on a spatial navigation task in which the navigator must either exploit a learned, familiar route or explore a new shortcut. If the hypothesis that risk tolerance is a domain-general trait is correct, we predicted that explore-exploit patterns would correlate across these tasks. We also examine the predictive power of computational models for the Iowa gambling task on behavioral uncertainty and the role of confidence in spatial navigation strategy. Our findings suggest that, while there is some overlap in risk tolerance between spatial navigation and gambling, the influence of exploration and exploitation on navigational decision making is weaker than initially predicted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Spatial navigation strategies change in aging. Whereas younger adults use more shortcuts (place-based strategies), older adults use more familiar routes (response-based strategies). Does this bias in older adults reflect a preference for familiar routes or deficits in the ability to take shortcuts? We tested this question by providing an instructions-based intervention in which participants were told to take shortcuts rather than follow a learned route. We predicted that when instructed to do so, participants would increase shortcut taking overall, but older adults to a lesser extent than younger adults, supporting the notion that preference, rather than an inability to use place-based strategies, underlies the predilection for response-based strategies in older age. Younger (n = 64) and older (n = 65) adults completed two sessions of a desktop virtual navigation strategy task in which they could navigate to goal locations following a familiar route or taking a novel shortcut. In the first session, all participants received the instruction to navigate to goal locations. In the second session, half received the same instruction as before and the other half was instructed to take shortcuts. We computed participants' tendency toward place- or response-based strategies in each session. We replicated the finding that younger adults took more shortcuts when instructed; however, counter to our prediction, the instruction manipulation had no effect in older adults. These findings suggest that navigation strategy in younger adults is flexible and may reflect preference, whereas older adults more rigidly adhere to familiar routes, implying impaired or degraded survey knowledge. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Spatial navigation strategies change in aging. Whereas younger adults use more shortcuts (place-based strategies), older adults use more familiar routes (response-based strategies). Does this bias in older adults reflect a preference for familiar routes or deficits in the ability to take shortcuts? We tested this question by providing an instructions-based intervention in which participants were told to take shortcuts rather than follow a learned route. We predicted that when instructed to do so, participants would increase shortcut taking overall, but older adults to a lesser extent than younger adults, supporting the notion that preference, rather than an inability to use place-based strategies, underlies the predilection for response-based strategies in older age. Younger (n = 64) and older (n = 65) adults completed two sessions of a desktop virtual navigation strategy task in which they could navigate to goal locations following a familiar route or taking a novel shortcut. In the first session, all participants received the instruction to navigate to goal locations. In the second session, half received the same instruction as before and the other half was instructed to take shortcuts. We computed participants’ tendency toward place- or response-based strategies in each session. We replicated the finding that younger adults took more shortcuts when instructed; however, counter to our prediction, the instruction manipulation had no effect in older adults. These findings suggest that navigation strategy in younger adults is flexible and may reflect preference whereas older adults more rigidly adhere to familiar routes, implying impaired or degraded survey knowledge.

Everyday situations require us to face a tradeoff to inform our decisions: exploit known information or explore for new information. Although both have risks, empirical research has not shown whether individuals prefer exploring or exploiting across contexts. In the present study, we examined the explore-exploit tradeoff as a theoretical framework across two broad domains: decision-making and spatial navigation. In this registered report, we applied computational modeling to human behavior on a novel version of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) to predict behavior on a spatial navigation task in which the navigator must either exploit a learned, familiar route or explore a new shortcut. If the hypothesis that risk tolerance is a domain general trait is correct, we predicted that explore-exploit patterns would correlate across these tasks. We also examine the predictive power of computational models for the IGT on behavioral uncertainty and the role of confidence in spatial navigation strategy. Our findings suggest that, while there is some overlap in risk tolerance between spatial navigation and gambling, the influence of exploration and exploitation on navigational decision-making is weaker than initially predicted.

Variability in human spatial navigation is the rule rather than the exception. Some people become lost easily and frequently whereas others create remarkably accurate maps of their environments. Here, we provide an overview of the ways in which human navigators vary and a framework for how this variability can be explained. Overall, people show individual differences in navigation outcomes – can they achieve their navigation goals – as well as navigation processes – how they navigate. We also describe several levels of explanation for why people show individual variability on a task as essential as navigation.

Facial impressions contribute to evaluations of trustworthiness. Older adults are especially vulnerable to trust violations, incurring risks for deception and exploitation. Using the newly developed Social Iowa Gambling Task (S-IGT), we examined age-group differences in the impact of facial trustworthiness on decision-making and learning. In the congruent condition (CS-IGT), advantageous decks were paired with trustworthy faces and disadvantageous decks with untrustworthy faces. In the incongruent condition (IS-IGT), this pairing was reversed. Younger (n = 143) and older (n = 129) participants completed either the standard Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), CS-IGT, or IS-IGT. Both age groups preferred trustworthy faces in their initial choices. Older adults performed worse than younger adults across all tasks over time. Further, compared to younger adults, older adults performed worse on the IS-IGT, suggesting that incongruent facial cues interfered with older adults’ performance, which aligns with reduced sensitivity to negative social reputations in aging. Multilevel modeling also indicated that age-group differences were most pronounced across all tasks in the last 40 trials. Together these findings suggest that differences between younger and older adults in experience-dependent decision-making are magnified in social contexts that involve a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” which may reflect age-related difficulties in integrating incongruent information.

Increasing misinformation spread poses a threat to older adults but there is little research on older adults within the fake news literature. Embedded in the Changes in Integration for Social Decisions in Aging (CISDA) model, this study examined the role of (a) analytical reasoning; (b) affect; (c) news consumption frequency, and their interplay with (d) news content on news veracity detection in aging. Conducted during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the present study asked participants to view and evaluate COVID or non-COVID (i.e., everyday) news articles, followed by measures of analytical reasoning, affect, and news consumption frequency. News veracity detection was comparable between young and older adults. Additionally, fake news detection for non-COVID news was predicted by individual differences in analytic reasoning for both age groups. However, chronological age effects in fake news detection emerged within the older adult sample and interacted with the CISDA-derived components of analytical reasoning, affect, and news consumption frequency by news content. Collectively, these findings suggest that age-related vulnerabilities to deceptive news are only apparent in very old age. Our findings advance understanding of psychological mechanisms in news veracity detection in aging.

Increasing misinformation spread poses a threat to older adults but there is little research on older adults within the fake news literature. Embedded in the Changes in Integration for Social Decisions in Aging (CISDA) model, this study examined the role of (i) analytical reasoning; (ii) affect; (iii) news consumption frequency, and their interplay with (iv) news content on news veracity detection in aging. Conducted during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the current study asked participants to view and evaluate COVID or non-COVID (i.e., everyday) news articles, followed by measures of analytical reasoning, affect, and news consumption frequency. News veracity detection was comparable between young and older adults. Additionally, fake news detection for non-COVID news was predicted by individual differences in analytic reasoning for both age groups. However, chronological age effects in fake news detection emerged within the older adult sample and interacted with the CISDA-derived components of analytical reasoning, affect, and news consumption frequency by news content. Collectively, these findings suggest that age-related vulnerabilities to deceptive news are only apparent in very old age. Our findings advance understanding of psychological mechanisms in news veracity detection in aging.