Old People and New Ideas

Receptivity and Rigidity

Tora K. Bikson, Jacqueline D. Goodchilds

Expert InsightsPublished 1979

It is generally assumed that it is difficult to induce behavioral and/or attitudinal change in older adults, especially if the target behaviors or attitudes represent important, central, or well-established patterns. An experimental study with 80 actively functioning women aged 65-74 was designed to test these assumptions with respect to food selection. Two tasks investigated subjects' responses to nutritionally positive and negative types of (1) new information about familiar alternatives and (2) new alternatives. Results indicated that subjects correctly evaluate and integrate the new into subsequent choices. However, amount of change is affected by decision domain and positivity-negativity of alternatives.

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Bikson, Tora K. and Jacqueline D. Goodchilds, Old People and New Ideas: Receptivity and Rigidity. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1979. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P6364.html.
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