As other populations of older adults (. individuals with Parkinson disease or other ailments or people in assisted living arrangements) may be more difficult to study,we chose a population of healthy high-functioning individuals for our first attempt to study decision making in the elderly. Each subject completed an individually administered interview, involving a written questionnaire and several interactive tasks. On average, subjects of both populations took 50 min to complete the interview. For all areas of the investigation involving monetary rewards, real cash was used. This method of collecting data is expensive, but for many populations of older adults living outside of retirement communities, individual interviews may be a necessary.
