There is the belief that as people age, it takes longer for them to make a decision. In fact, the Mayo Clinic states that as brain cells disappear, memory can become less efficient. While both the elderly and children tend to have slower response times, new research from Ohio State University reveals that the delay in older individuals’ decision making may be due to their interest in making the right choice.

The results of this study, which appear in the journal Child Development, even shows that people 70 years of age can have response times similar to those that can be found among 25 year olds.

Roger Ratcliff, professor of psychology at the University, and his colleagues have spent the past several years studying cognitive processes and aging. They found that while small children have slow response times and poor accuracy, they improve in these areas as they get older. In terms of the elderly, the researchers learned that brain processing does not necessarily slow with age.

"Older people don't want to make any errors at all, and that causes them to slow down," said Gail McKoon, a professor of psychology at the University. "We found that it is difficult to get them out of the habit, but they can with practice."

Older individuals who are curious to see if their cognitive abilities have slowed, or are as sharp as ever, may want to take an IQ test.

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