Subbulakshmi S. grew up not knowing how her family made decisions about money, an experience that influenced her postdoctoral research into  financial decision-making as an SCL New Map of Life fellow.

“It was quite a steep learning curve once I entered adulthood,” says Subbulakshmi of her early years in Tamil Nadu, India (where last names are not typically used.) “I was prepared for the responsibility, but I didn’t have the financial knowledge I have today to prepare for a long life.”

Subbulakshmi, known as Subbu, is working with Stanford psychology professor Anthony Wagner to understand the factors affecting how people make financial decisions as they age.  Not only must individuals plan for extended and often unpredictable futures, but they also face decisions that become increasingly complex over time.

Neural Connectivity in the Aging Brain
Subbulakshmi and Wagner’s research, supported by Bank of America, aims to understand how age-related cognitive changes impact financial learning and decision-making. Their approach combines neuroimaging with behavioral learning tasks among older adults without cognitive impairment.  One early insight  is the  tremendous variability in cognitive performance among older adults. Some people show significant capacity for learning, especially in how well they maintain attention. This challenges the narrative that aging is inevitably related to decline, says Subbulakshmi. “It’s just another change that happens throughout life—one we can adapt to.”

Her work shows that the strength of neural connectivity within the brain’s attention network plays a crucial role. Older adults with more robust attention networks are better able to focus on, absorb, and retain new financial concepts.

Can the Way We Present Information Make a Difference?
The next question: Can financial content be designed to effectively help offset age-related cognitive challenges?

The team  looked at how the presentation of financial information affects learning—especially in light of the brain’s decreasing ability to segment information as we age. They tested the concept of  “event boundaries,” the  sequential breaks or dividers the brain creates to separate one experience from another. 

Older adults who received financial information with event boundaries learned and retained significantly more than those who received the same content in a continuous stream. The ultimate goal of event boundaries “ is to give people a sense of efficacy in financial decisions,” Subbulakshmi explains. “It’s about retaining agency and giving people the tools to take back control over their finances.”

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