Framing Effects in Older Adults' Medical Decision-Making: Social Distance Matters.

The article investigates how aging, framing effects, and social distance influence medical decision-making, focusing on differences between older and younger/middle-aged adults in Shanghai, China. Based on Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST), the study found that older adults exhibit smaller framing effects—changes in risk preference depending on whether outcomes are presented as gains or losses—when making decisions for strangers compared to close relatives, whereas younger and middle-aged adults show consistent framing effects regardless of social distance. Specifically, older adults were less risk-seeking in loss-framed scenarios involving strangers, suggesting that imagining decisions for strangers may improve their medical decision-making rationality. These findings highlight the moderating role of social distance on age-related differences in medical risk-taking and suggest potential strategies to support older adults in healthcare contexts.