Does an Aging Brain Make You More Prone to Scams?

Do you remember a time when you had a gut feeling that someone was a bit shady? Two new studies suggest that as we age, our internal warning system seems to diminish, which could explain why older people are more often the victims of scams.

According to researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, age-related brain changes may make us less able to recognize shifty, suspicious-looking facial expressions. The two studies, published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are the first to find that the aging brain sends out fewer warning signs about untrustworthy people than the brains of younger adults.

"There are cues [in facial expressions] associated with actual deceitful behavior," says study author Shelley Taylor, a professor of health psychology at UCLA. The studies she and her colleagues conducted found "quite a significant difference" in the abilities of older and younger adults to recognize devious expressions like an insincere smile or not making eye contact.

The age-related changes occur in a part of the brain known as the anterior insula, or AI. When confronted with an untrustworthy face, this area in a young person "lights up." As we age, this region becomes less responsive, which, ironically, makes older adults feel more content, but also makes them more vulnerable to being cheated. Loneliness and other factors that may accompany aging can compound this vulnerability, adds Taylor.

In their research, Taylor and her colleagues first asked 119 adults between the ages of 55 and 84, and 24 younger adults, mostly in their 20s, to look at photos of 30 faces considered trustworthy, neutral or untrustworthy and rate them on how trustworthy and approachable they seemed. While both age groups reacted similarly to trustworthy and neutral faces, the older adults failed to recognize the untrustworthy cues — such as fake smiles, looking away, or leaning backward.