Leveraging Behavioral Economics to Understand and Improve Financial Decision Making Among Vulnerable Older Adults

N/ANot Yet RecruitingNCT07682740

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston400 enrolled

Overview

This study seeks to test novel informational content / nudge strategies to mitigate financial vulnerability among older adults.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

400

Conditions

Financial Exploitation of Older Adults

Interventions

Participants receiving informational self-nudges to improve financial decision-makingBEHAVIORAL

Participants will be asked to virtually go through financial self-nudging informational content during the week prior to completing behavioral tasks. Self-nudging informational content contains strategies to enhance financial decision-making.

Control - Participants receiving informational content on healthy eating and physical activityBEHAVIORAL

The control group will be exposed to informational content on healthy eating and physical activity (obtained through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and/or National Institute on Aging webpages).

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 60 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Adults over the age of 60 * English speakers, to ensure comprehension of study tasks * High vulnerability to financial exploitation as assessed by the Financial Exploitation Vulnerability Scale (FEVS) Exclusion Criteria: * Less than age 60 * Non-English speaker

Locations (1)

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Houston, Texas, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Frequency of choosing the riskier option on the risk tolerance decision-making task

Participants will complete a decision-making session that captures multiple dimensions of behavioral preferences via incentivized choice-based tasks with real monetary rewards. The study team will administer the following decision-making task via a web-based survey platform to characterize risk tolerance (willingness to accept uncertain outcomes). The task involves multiple rounds (between 20 to 40) that vary option-specific information to facilitate mapping of elicited behavioral responses onto parameters characterizing standard utility functions.

Time frame: During the time of the decision-making task (about 5-10 minutes)

Frequency of choosing the more trusting option on the trust decision-making task

Participants will complete a decision-making session that captures multiple dimensions of behavioral preferences via incentivized choice-based tasks with real monetary rewards. The study team will administer the following decision-making task via a web-based survey platform to characterize interpersonal trust (willingness to accept being vulnerable to other people). The task involves multiple rounds (between 20 to 40) that vary option-specific information to facilitate mapping of elicited behavioral responses onto parameters characterizing standard utility functions.

Time frame: During the time of the decision-making task (about 5-10 minutes)

Frequency of choosing the more altruistic option on the altruism decision-making task

Participants will complete a decision-making session that captures multiple dimensions of behavioral preferences via incentivized choice-based tasks with real monetary rewards. The study team will administer the following decision-making task via a web-based survey platform to characterize altruism (willingness to incur a financial cost to benefit another person). The task involves multiple rounds (between 20 to 40) that vary option-specific information to facilitate mapping of elicited behavioral responses onto parameters characterizing standard utility functions.

Time frame: During the time of the decision-making task (about 5-10 minutes)

Frequency of choosing the more patient option on the impatience decision-making task

Central Contacts

Abdelaziz Alsharawy, PhD

CONTACT

(713) 500-9000 Abdelaziz.Alsharawy@uth.tmc.edu

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Participants will complete a decision-making session that captures multiple dimensions of behavioral preferences via incentivized choice-based tasks with real monetary rewards. The study team will administer the following decision-making task via a web-based survey platform to characterize patience (willingness to forego a sooner reward for a bigger future reward). The task involves multiple rounds (between 20 to 40) that vary option-specific information to facilitate mapping of elicited behavioral responses onto parameters characterizing standard utility functions.

Time frame: During the time of the decision-making task (about 5-10 minutes)

Frequency of choosing the less loss-averse option on the loss-aversion decision-making task

Participants will complete a decision-making session that captures multiple dimensions of behavioral preferences via incentivized choice-based tasks with real monetary rewards. The study team will administer the following decision-making task via a web-based survey platform to characterize loss aversion (tendency to weigh potential losses more heavily than equivalent gains). The task involves multiple rounds (between 20 to 40) that vary option-specific information to facilitate mapping of elicited behavioral responses onto parameters characterizing standard utility functions.

Time frame: During the time of the decision-making task (about 5-10 minutes)

Physiological arousal as measured via heart rate

Participants recruited for in-lab sessions will complete the decision-making tasks while also sitting before a monitor with an eye-tracker to monitor attention, a webcam to monitor facial expressions, and with a wireless device (non-invasive transmitter placed on participant's wrist with two electrodes attached to finger) worn to monitor physiological measurements (heart rate and skin conductance) while completing the choice-based tasks.