IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/medema/v35y2015i1p22-26.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Thinking about Numbers Is Not My Idea of Funâ€

Author

Listed:
  • Wändi Bruine de Bruin
  • Simon J. McNair
  • Andrea L. Taylor
  • Barbara Summers
  • JoNell Strough

Abstract

Background. Numeracy refers to people’s ability to use numbers. Low numeracy has been associated with difficulties in understanding risk-benefit information and making health decisions. Older adults tend to perform worse than younger adults on measures of numeracy, but some theories of aging suggest that older adults may lack motivation for such tasks. We therefore test whether age differences in numeracy performance are mediated by a reduced motivation to think hard about complex problems—as measured by need for cognition. Method. We recruited an age-diverse convenience sample of 306 UK adults. They completed measures of numeracy and need for cognition. They self-reported their educational attainment and other demographics. Results. Older age was related to lower numeracy and lower need for cognition. The negative relationship between age and numeracy was mediated by need for cognition. These findings held after we controlled for educational attainment and other demographic factors. Discussion. Older adults may show lower numeracy performance due to lack of motivation. We discuss strategies for improving people’s motivation to complete numeracy measures and other numerical tasks.

Suggested Citation

  • Wändi Bruine de Bruin & Simon J. McNair & Andrea L. Taylor & Barbara Summers & JoNell Strough, 2015. "“Thinking about Numbers Is Not My Idea of Funâ€," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 35(1), pages 22-26, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:medema:v:35:y:2015:i:1:p:22-26
    DOI: 10.1177/0272989X14542485
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0272989X14542485
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0272989X14542485?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:medema:v:35:y:2015:i:1:p:22-26. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.