Introduction: The Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) identifies innate moral foundations that drive moral judgment, and are assumed to mature at different phases throughout development. However, core developmental aspects of moral foundations, such as normative age and gender differences from an MFT perspective, remain relatively unexplored,…

Individuals aged 12 to 18 are establishing housing connections that could significantly impact their future housing choices when they are particularly susceptible to external influences. Recognizing the impact of early life experiences can enhance educational initiatives to assist adolescents in making more informed housing decisions. The research…

Many researchers have used the standard Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) to assess decision-making in adolescence given increased risk-taking during this developmental period. Most studies are cross-sectional and do not observe behavioral trajectories over time, limiting interpretation. This longitudinal study investigated healthy adolescents' and young…

Judgments about objects in the world are often based on probabilistic information (or cues). A frugal judgment strategy that utilizes memory (i.e., the ability to discriminate between known and unknown objects) as a cue for inference is the recognition heuristic (RH). The usefulness of the RH depends on the structure of the environment,…

Reviews evidence on development of competence in decision making during adolescence focusing on cognitive aspects. Discusses indicators of competence: choice, comprehension, creativity, compromise, consequentiality, correctness, credibility, consistency, and commitment. Evidence suggests that many adolescents show reliable level of competence in…

Healthy adolescents (79 girls, 66 boys), ages 9-17, completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; A. Bechara, A. R. Damasio, H. Damasio, & S. W. Anderson, 1994) as well as working memory (digit span) and behavioral inhibition (go/no-go) tasks. Cross-sectional age-related changes were seen on all 3 tasks. Gender differences were seen in IGT deck…

A simulated peer-counseling situation was used to assess decision making among 108 adolescents in grades 7 through 12. As grade level increased, adolescents significantly more often mentioned potential risks and future consequences of decisions; recognized and treated vested interests with caution; and suggested an independent professional opinion…

Examined impact of mood, age, and gender on decision processes in a job-selection task for seventh through twelfth graders and adults. Found that females discarded more information and took longer to decide in negative versus positive or neutral moods. Junior high females were more pessimistic about their chances to obtain their desired job;…