Introduction
Hypothesized development of goal focus across the lifespan
Study 1
Methods
Sample
Age (years) | Total n | n Female | n Male | Mage | SDage | n Gaze allocation | n Imitation choice task | n Behavioral preference | n Verbal tasksb |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3.5–4.5 | 46 | 23 | 23 | 3.50 | 0.51 | 28 | 40 | 43 | 0 |
6–7 | 41 | 19 | 22 | 6.05 | 0.22 | 35 | 40 | 41 | 0 |
10–11 | 32 | 17 | 15 | 10.59 | 0.50 | 29 | 30 | 32 | 32 |
13–17 | 29a | 16 | 11 | 14.93 | 1.00 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 |
18–25 | 51 | 35 | 16 | 21.00 | 2.34 | 46 | 48 | 50 | 51 |
26–34 | 5 | 3 | 2 | – | – | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
35–45 | 30 | 14 | 16 | 40.47 | 2.76 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 |
46–54 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
55–65 | 32 | 16 | 16 | 59.78 | 2.99 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
66–74 | 7 | 3 | 4 | – | – | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
75–85 | 37 | 18 | 19 | 78.24 | 2.58 | 30 | 31 | 37 | 37 |
N across age | 312 | 166 | 144 | 265 | 287 | 306 | 225 |
Procedure
Measures
Gaze allocation task
Behavioral preference task
Imitation choice task
Verbal assessment of goal focus
Data preprocessing for the gaze allocation task
Data analysis
Results
Age-related effects
Gaze allocation task
Group comparisons
Tests against neutral value
3–4 | 6–7 | 10–11 | 13–17 | 18–25 | 35–45 | 55–65 | 75–85 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Statistic (p) | ||||||||
Gaze allocation | 2.65 (0.01) BF10 = 3.61 | − 0.34 (.74) BF10 = 0.19 | 1.61 (0.12) BF10 = 0.63 | 0.17 (0.87) BF10 = 0.21 | 3.85 (< 0.001) BF10 = 71.74 | 0.67 (0.51) BF10 = 0.25 | 2.38 (0.02) BF10 = 2.17 | − 0.38 (0.71) BF10 = 0.21 |
Behavioral preference | 121 (0.84) | 176 (0.02) | 27 (0.008) | 19.5 (0.09) | 238 (0.39) | 24 (0.39) | 69 (0.03) | 73.5 (0.19) |
Imitation choice | 242 (0.68) | 336 (0.82) | 206 (0.43) | 126 (0.08) | 586 (0.62) | 176 (0.73) | 235 (0.01) | 334 (0.04) |
Action descriptions | – | – | 322 (0.26) | 301 (0.07) | 835(0.10) | 294 (0.20) | 218 (0.39) | 196 (0.02) |
Thinking exercise | – | – | 0.13 (0.72) BF10 = 0.23 | 0.31 (0.58) BF10 = 0.26 | 3.31 (0.07) BF10 = 0.89 | 8.53 (0.003) BF10 = 17.01 | 4.5 (0.03) BF10 = 2.02 | 6.08 (0.01) BF10 = 4.23 |
Motto 1 | – | – | 416 (< 0.001) | 302 (< 0.001) | 815 (< 0.001) | 292 (0.003) | 396 (< 0.001) | 498 (0.001) |
Motto 2 | – | – | 316 (0.09) | 224 (0.09) | 728 (< 0.001) | 184 (0.55) | 152 (0.56) | 285 (0.14) |
Behavioral preference task
Group comparisons
Tests against neutral value
Imitation choice task
Group comparisons
Tests against neutral value
Action descriptions
Group comparisons
Tests against neutral value
Thinking exercise
Group comparisons
Tests against neutral value
Motto items
Group comparisons
Tests against neutral values
Convergence of measures
Task | Gaze allocation | Behavioral preference | Imitation choice | Action descriptions | Motto 1 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Behavioral preference | 0.01 (n = 262) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.08) | – | – | – | – |
Imitation choice | 0.03 (n = 245) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.11) | − 0.04 (n = 287) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.13) | – | – | – |
Action descriptions | − 0.01 (n = 202) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.09) | − 0.14 (n = 222) (p = 0.45, BF10 = 100.62) | 0.02 (n = 207) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.10) | – | – |
Motto 1 | 0.01 (n = 202) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.09) | 0.08 (n = 222) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.42) | 0.06 (n = 207) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.21) | − 0.07 (n = 225) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.29) | – |
Motto 2 | 0.07 (n = 202) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.27) | 0.03 (n = 222) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.11) | − 0.08 (n = 207) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.39) | − 0.002 (n = 225) (p > 0.99, BF10 = 00.09) | − 0.16 (n = 225) (p = 0.21, BF10 = 490.91) |
Gaze allocation | Behavioral preference | Imitation choice | Action descriptions | Motto 1 | Motto 2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
− 0.02 (0.16) (p = 0.92, BF10 = 0.08) | − 0.16 (0.17) (p = 0.36, BF10 = 0.12) | − 0.21 (0.16) (p = 0.19, BF10 = 0.18) | 0.55 (0.18) (p = .002, BF10 = 9.21) | 0.31 (0.18) (p = 0.08, BF10 = 0.35) | 0.14 (0.17) (p = 0.41, BF10 = 0.11) |
Discussion
Measurement of goal focus
Study 2
Methods
Sample
Subsample | n | M age in years | SD age in years | % female | Distribution by country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
17–35 years | 515 | 27.77 | 4.80 | 50.3 | 33% Swiss, 31.7% German, 35.3% Austrian |
36–64 years | 505 | 50.39 | 8.03 | 49.3 | 33.3% Swiss, 33.7% German, 33% Austrian |
65 years and older | 530 | 70.64 | 4.33 | 45.8 | 36.8% Swiss, 31.9% German, 31.3% Austrian |
Procedure and measures
Data preparation and analysis
Results
Age-related differences in goal focus
Convergence of measures
DVs | Action descriptions | Motto 1 | Motto 2 |
---|---|---|---|
Motto 1 | − 0.04, p = 0.61, BF10 = 0.33 | – | |
Motto 2 | < − 0.001, p > 0.99, BF10 = 0.03 | − 0.21, p < 0.001, BF10 = 8.506e31 | – |
Freund et al. (2010) measure | 0.10, p < 0.001, BF10 = 4.917e6 | − 0.01, p > 0.99, BF10 = 0.04 | − 0.02, p > 0.99, BF10 = 0.06 |
Freund et al. measure | Action descriptions | Motto 1 | Motto 2 |
---|---|---|---|
0.09 (0.05) (p = 0.09, BF10 = 0.10) | 0.18 (0.05) (p < 0.001, BF10 = 7.23) | 0.03 (0.06) (p = 0.54, BF10 = 0.03) | 0.16 (0.06) (p = 0.004, BF10 = 1.52) |