The impact of timing perception strategy on intertemporal decision-making in older adults: the role of subjective time perception

With the global aging population, an increasing number of researchers are interested in the intertemporal choice issues faced by older adults. Previous studies have examined how age-related differences in time perception affect intertemporal choices. However, the impact of time perception strategy on intertemporal decision-making among older adults remains unclear. This study was designed to examine how timing perception strategy influence decision-making among older adults while also exploring the possible mechanisms. We manipulated timing perception strategy preferences through priming in two experiments (Experiment 1, <i>n</i> = 160; Experiment 2, <i>n</i> = 129). Both intertemporal decision-making tasks and matching tasks were used to validate the findings. The results indicated that younger adults tend to prefer external strategy, which is associated with a longer subjective time perception and a stronger inclination toward immediate rewards. In contrast, older adults were more likely to prefer internal strategy, which correlates with a shorter subjective time perception and a preference for delayed gratification. Moreover, subjective time perception played a fully mediating role in the impact of timing perception strategy on intertemporal decision-making, with age moderating the influence of these strategies on subjective time perception. These findings suggest that the influence of timing perception strategy on intertemporal decision-making may be mediated by subjective time perception and that differences in strategy preferences could help explain age-related difference in decision-making preferences. This study provides a novel perspective on the mechanisms behind age-related differences in intertemporal decision-making by revealing how cognitive and time perception uniquely shape decision-making processes in older adults.