Older people find it harder to admit when they are wrong, say scientists
The older you get, the more stubborn you become – and that’s according to scientists.
Researchers have found that older people are less likely to admit when they’re wrong.
The study by the University of Iowa discovered that conceding a mistake is easier when you are younger.
Those behind the study believe human beings are less adept at recognising when they are wrong as they age.
The research, which was published in the journal Neurobiology of Ageing, involved making subjects play a computer game featuring flashing circles.
Researchers studied 80 adults for the test – half under the age of 30 and half over 60.
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They were asked to either look at a flashing circle when it appeared on the screen, or glance away as quickly as possible.
After the test, they were asked whether or not they believed they had been successful.
The younger group acknowledged when they were wrong 75% of the time, but the older group only admitted they were incorrect 63% of the time.
“The good news is older adults perform the tasks we assigned them just as well as younger adults, albeit more slowly,” Jan Wessel, from the University of Iowa, told The Times.
“But we find there is this impaired ability in older adults to recognise an error when they’ve made one.”
Professor Wessel added: “Realising fewer errors can have more severe consequences, because you can’t remedy an error that you don’t realise you’ve committed.”
However, the research team was unable to say if it was a result of older people being more stubborn or simply having less cognitive ability than the younger group.
