title: Human development of the ability to learn from bad news.
abstract: Humans show a natural tendency to discount bad news while incorporating good news into beliefs (the "good news-bad news effect"), an effect that may help explain seemingly irrational risk taking. Understanding how this bias develops with age is important because adolescents are prone to engage in risky behavior; thus, educating them about danger is crucial. We reveal a striking valence-dependent asymmetry in how belief updating develops with age. In the ages tested (9-26 y), younger age was associated with inaccurate updating of beliefs in response to undesirable information regarding vulnerability. In contrast, the ability to update beliefs accurately in response to desirable information remained relatively stable with age. This asymmetry was mediated by adequate computational use of positive but not negative estimation errors to alter beliefs. The results are important for understanding how belief formation develops and might help explain why adolescents do not respond adequately to warnings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive, Perceptual, and Brain Sciences, University College London, London WC1H 0AP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moutsiana
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Garrett
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: R Beau
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Lotto
authors.forename: Sarah-Jayne
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Blakemore
authors.forename: Tali
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sharot
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D012309:Risk-Taking
keywords: decision making; learning; optimism
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