Age-related emotional advantages in encountering novel situation in daily life.

People encounter novel situations throughout their lives that contribute to the acquisition of knowledge and experience. However, novelty can be misaligned with goals and motivation in later adulthood according to socioemotional selectivity theory. This study investigated age differences in emotional reactions associated with novel experiences. Multilevel structural equation models were used to analyze experience-sampling data obtained from an adult sample of 375 participants aged 18-94 years who reported their current situation and momentary emotional experience five times per day for 7 days. On occasions where situations were rated as more novel, people reported reduced positive and increased negative emotion. Those who had more overall exposure to novel situations tended to have more negative emotional experiences in general. Contrary to our hypothesis, there were age differences in individuals' negative emotional reactivity to situations that are perceived as more novel, such that novel situations were reported as less negative among older adults. By applying theoretical understanding of age differences in motivation and well-being in adulthood, our findings illuminate aspects of situations that elicit negative emotions. Findings highlight age-related benefits in emotional well-being, consistent with socioemotional selectivity theory postulates, and further implies that older adults may not be novelty averse. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Age and Time Horizons Are Associated With Preferences for Helping Colleagues.

The present study examined the causal role of time horizons in age differences in worker motivation. Based on socioemotional selectivity theory (SST), we hypothesized that under unspecified time horizons, older workers prefer to engage in emotionally meaningful work activities more so than younger workers. We further hypothesized that when time horizons at work are expanded or limited, age differences are eliminated. We recruited a sample of employees (N = 555) and randomly assigned them to one of three experimental conditions: a no-instruction condition in which time horizons were not specified, an expanded time horizons condition, or a limited horizons condition. We asked participants to choose from among three options for work-related activities: Helping a colleague or a friend, working on a career-advancing project, or working on a project which may take the company in a new direction. Consistent with SST postulates, we found that age was associated with preferences for helping colleagues in the unspecified horizons condition, and that age differences were eliminated when time horizons were extended or limited. As hypothesized, expanding time horizons reduced employees' likelihood of choosing to help colleagues. Contrary to our hypothesis, limiting time horizons also reduced the likelihood of choosing to help colleagues. Alternative explanations are considered. Findings suggest that age differences in worker motivation are shaped by time horizons and that modification of time horizons can alter work preferences.

Age differences in emotional experiences associated with helping and learning at work.

Drawing on socioemotional selectivity theory and goal theories of emotion, this study examined age differences in helping and learning activities at work and the emotional correlates of such activities. We hypothesized that older workers help colleagues more than younger workers and derive greater emotional benefits from helping; and that younger workers learn more often at work and derive greater emotional benefits from learning. Frequency of employees' (N = 365; age 18-78 years) helping, learning, and emotional experience were monitored for 5 days using a modified day reconstruction method. We found that older workers engaged in helping more than younger workers and reported greater positive emotions from helping. Contrary to our hypothesis, younger and older workers engaged in learning activities at similar frequencies. However, in line with our hypothesis, learning was associated with more positive emotions for younger workers. Findings suggest thoughtful consideration of how to optimize work activities and practices that promote emotional well-being of both younger and older workers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Characterizing the Relationship Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and U.S. Classical Musicians' Wellbeing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the economic and social wellbeing of communities worldwide. Certain groups have been disproportionately impacted by the strain of the pandemic, such as classical musicians. The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly harmed the classical music industry, silencing the world's concert halls and theaters. In an industry characterized by instability, a shock as great as COVID-19 may bring negative effects that far outlast the pandemic itself. This study investigates the wellbeing of classical musicians during the COVID-19 pandemic. 68 professional classical musicians completed a questionnaire composed of validated measures of future time horizons, emotional experience, social relationships, and life satisfaction. Findings show that feelings of loneliness had a significant negative association with other measures of wellbeing and were significantly mediated by increased social integration and perceived social support from colleagues, friends, and family. These findings help to characterize the present psychological, emotional, and social wellness of classical musicians in the United States, the first step toward mitigating the hazardous impacts of COVID-19 on this vulnerable group's mental health and wellness.

COVID-19 reduced age differences in social motivation.

Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) maintains that when futures loom large, as they typically do in youth, people are motivated to explore. When future time is perceived as more limited, as is typical in old age, people are motivated to pursue emotionally meaningful goals. Because the COVID-19 pandemic primed mortality across the age spectrum, it provided an opportunity to examine whether age differences in social motivation typically observed were also present during the pandemic. We measured social motivation, as operationalized by social preferences, in two studies during peak of the pandemic in 2020. Once vaccines were introduced in 2021, we conducted two additional studies using the same experimental paradigm. As hypothesized, at the peak of the pandemic, social preferences favored emotionally meaningful partners regardless of age. Social preferences differed by age (as reliably observed in research conducted before the pandemic) when vaccines were available. Findings suggest that widely documented age differences in social motivation reflect time horizons more than chronological age.

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory: The Role of Perceived Endings in Human Motivation.

Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) is a theory of life-span development grounded in the uniquely human ability to monitor time. SST maintains that the approach of endings-whether due to aging or other endings such as geographic relocations and severe illness-elicits motivational changes in which emotionally meaningful goals are prioritized over exploration. Research guided by SST has informed preferences, social networks, and emotional experience and led to the discovery of the positivity effect in cognitive processing. This article, based on my 2015 Robert W. Kleemeier Award Lecture, describes the development of SST and its related program of empirical research.

Meaningful endings and mixed emotions: The double-edged sword of reminiscence on good times.

Meaningful endings lead people to experience mixed emotions, but it is unclear why. We hypothesized that it is in part because meaningful endings lead people to reminisce on good times. In Study 1, college students who took part in our study on their graduation day (vs. a typical day) reported having spent more time that day reminiscing on good times. Moreover, reminiscence on good times partially mediated the effect of graduation on happiness, sadness, and mixed emotions. In Study 2, we asked undergraduates to reminisce on good (vs. ordinary) times from high school and found that reminiscence on good times elicited happiness, sadness, and mixed emotions. In Study 3, we found that reminiscing on good times that were not (vs. were) repeatable elicited especially intense sadness and mixed emotions. Taken together, results indicate that reminiscing on good times, especially good times gone, elicits mixed emotions and that these emotional consequences help explain why meaningful endings elicit mixed emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Beyond stereotypes: Using socioemotional selectivity theory to improve messaging to older adults.

The tremendous heterogeneity in functional and demographic characteristics of the over-65 age group presents challenges to effective marketing and public health communications. Messages grounded on tacit assumptions that older people are frail, incompetent, and needy risk being overlooked by most of the older population; on the other hand, ignoring age-associated vulnerabilities is problematic. We argue that while traditional approaches to market segmentation based on chronological age often fail, reliable age differences in motivation can inform the types of information that older people typically prefer, attend to, and remember. Socioemotional selectivity theory maintains that as future time horizons grow limited - as they typically do with age - emotional goals are prioritized over goals that focus on exploration. As time left becomes more limited, positive messages are remembered better than negative, and products that help people savor the moment are preferred over those that benefit the long-term future. Relatedly, acknowledging individual strengths and personal resilience are likely to be especially appealing to older people.

Rethinking the urban physical environment for century-long lives: from age-friendly to longevity-ready cities.

In response to increasing life expectancies and urbanization, initiatives for age-friendly cities seek to facilitate active and healthy aging by strengthening supports and services for older people. While laudable, these efforts typically neglect early-life exposures that influence long-term well-being. With a focus on the urban physical environment, we argue that longevity-ready cities can accomplish more than initiatives focused solely on old age. We review features of cities that cumulatively influence healthy aging and longevity, discuss the need for proactive interventions in a changing climate, and highlight inequities in the ambient physical environment, especially those encountered at early ages, that powerfully contribute to disparities in later life stages. Compared with strategies aimed largely at accommodating older populations, longevity-ready cities would aim to reduce the sources of disadvantages across the life course and simultaneously improve the well-being of older people.

Emotion and prosocial giving in older adults.

A new study provides broad evidence that older people are more generous than their younger counterparts, but that they favor local over global giving. In light of population aging and the relative wealth controlled by older citizens, it is important to identify the factors that contribute to these differences.

Leveraging goals to incentivize healthful behaviors across adulthood.

Despite abundant evidence for the benefits of physical activity on aging trajectories, older Americans remain largely inactive. The present study was designed to examine age differences in responsiveness to financial incentives to increase walking. Grounded in socioemotional selectivity theory, we examined the effectiveness of financial incentives that varied in prosociality. Three types of incentives were presented to community-residing adults 18-92 years of age (N = 450). Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 conditions: personal, loved one, charity, choice, or a no-incentive control group. Average daily step counts were measured using pedometers during a baseline week, during the incentivized period, and after the incentivized period ended. Overall, financial incentives significantly increased walking compared to a control group. Whereas personal incentives were effective regardless of age, incentives to earn for charities were starkly more effective in older adults than younger adults. Moreover, 1 week after the incentivized period ended, older participants were more likely to maintain increased step counts, whereas younger people reverted to baseline step counts. Findings suggest that financial incentives can increase walking in a wide age range and that charitable incentives may be especially effective in health interventions targeting older adults. The importance of aligning incentives with age-related goals is discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Age Advantages in Emotional Experience Persist Even Under Threat From the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating unprecedented, sustained, and unavoidable stress for the entire population, and older people are facing particularly heightened risk of contracting the virus and suffering severe complications, including death. The present study was conducted when the pandemic was spreading exponentially in the United States. To address important theoretical questions about age differences in emotional experience in times of crisis, we surveyed a representative sample of 945 Americans between the ages of 18 and 76 years and assessed the frequency and intensity of a range of positive and negative emotions. We also assessed perceived risk of contagion and complications from the virus, as well as personality, health, and demographic characteristics. Age was associated with relatively greater emotional well-being both when analyses did and did not control for perceived risk and other covariates. The present findings extend previous research about age and emotion by demonstrating that older adults' relatively better emotional well-being persists even in the face of prolonged stress.

The future is now: Age-progressed images motivate community college students to prepare for their financial futures.

Part of the challenge young people face when preparing for lifelong financial security is visualizing the far-off future. Age-progression technology has been shown to motivate young people to save for retirement. The current study applied age progression for motivating socioeconomically diverse community college students as part of a college planning course. We recruited 106 students enrolled in a mandatory "Transitioning to College" course and randomly assigned them to view age-progressed or same-aged digital avatars. Compared to controls, age-progressed participants gave more correct answers and exhibited higher confidence (i.e., fewer "don't know" responses) on a financial literacy test. Confidence mediated the effect of age progression on correct responses, but not the other way around, pointing to financial confidence as a precursor to effective financial education. Students also reported interest in attending more long-term financial planning workshops (e.g., investing and retirement) available through their college. No differences were observed in financial planning for the near term (e.g., student aid and credit cards). The current study demonstrates the viability of age progression as a practical, inexpensive, and scalable intervention. Findings also illustrate the significance of this intervention for reducing pervasive socioeconomic and age disparities in financial knowledge and enhancing long-term financial prospects across future generations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Alternative Retirement Paths and Cognitive Performance: Exploring the Role of Preretirement Job Complexity.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recent research suggests that working longer may be protective of cognitive functioning in later life, especially for workers in low complexity jobs. As postretirement work becomes increasingly popular, it is important to understand how various retirement pathways influence cognitive function. The present study examines cognitive changes as a function of job complexity in the context of different types of retirement transitions. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We use data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine change in cognitive function for workers who have held low, moderate, and high complexity jobs and move through distinct retirement pathways-retiring and returning to work, partial retirement-compared with those who fully retire or remain full-time workers. Inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (a propensity score method) is used to adjust for selection effects. RESULTS: There are systematic variations in the relationships between work and cognitive performance as a function of job complexity and retirement pathways. All retirement pathways were associated with accelerated cognitive decline for workers in low complexity jobs. In contrast, for high complexity workers retirement was not associated with accelerated cognitive decline and retiring and returning to work was associated with modest improvement in cognitive functioning. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Both policy makers and individuals are beginning to embrace longer working lives which offer variety of potential benefits. Our findings suggest that continued full-time work also may be protective for cognitive health in workers who hold low complexity jobs.

Time may heal wounds: Aging and life regrets.

Psychological research on regret has focused mostly on the negative emotions associated with troubling past decisions. Because aging is associated with a preference for positive information in attention and memory, investigation into positive emotions elicited by regrets may provide insights into adult developmental changes in subjective experience. The present study investigated age differences in regret-related affect in a survey of adults (n = 629) aged 18-92 years. Positive and negative affect emerged as discrete dimensions of regret-related affect with age trajectories that benefit well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Counting down while time flies: implications of age-related time acceleration for goal pursuit across adulthood.

Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) is a life-span theory of motivation grounded in the subjective awareness of human mortality. The cardinal postulate is that time horizons shape the relative priority placed on emotionally meaningful and knowledge-seeking goals. Because goals are always set in temporal contexts, and time left in life is inversely related to chronological age, SST predicts systematic age differences in goal pursuit. The theory has garnered considerable empirical support. In this paper, we consider the role of age-related time acceleration on goal setting and argue that it may interact with the more gradual age-related changes in time horizons presumed in SST. If so, the favoring of emotionally meaningful goals may follow an exponential (as opposed to linear) function across adulthood.

Integrating cognitive and emotion paradigms to address the paradox of aging.

Thirty years ago, the subfields of emotion and cognition operated relatively independently and the associated science reflected the tacit view that they were distinct constructs. Today, questions about the integration of cognition and emotion are among the most interesting questions in the field. I offer a personal view of the key changes that fuelled this shift over time and describe research from my group that unfolded in parallel and led to the identification of the positivity effect.

The positivity effect: a negativity bias in youth fades with age.

Relative to younger adults, older adults attend to and remember positive information more than negative information. This shift from a negativity bias in younger age to a preference for positive information in later life is termed the 'positivity effect.' Based on nearly two decades of research and recent evidence from neuroscience, we argue that the effect reflects age-related changes in motivation that direct behavior and cognitive processing rather than neural or cognitive decline. Understanding the positivity effect, including conditions that reduce and enhance it, can inform effective public health and educational messages directed at older people.