Positive Emotions Across the Adult Life Span

Chapter 15 Positive Emotions across the Adult Life Span

Joseph A. Mikels Andrew E. Reed Lauren N. Hardy Corinna E. Löckenhoff

Quick, think of the typical older person. We begin with a review of age trajectories What comes to mind? If you were to answer in various aspects of well-being and con- “feeble, gray hair, slow, hard of hearing,” sider competing theoretical accounts of such and maybe “wise,” then you would be effects. Next, we examine age differences conveying the predominantly negative ste- in emotion regulatory strategies, with par- reotypes of later life that exist within U.S. ticular emphasis on the “positivity effect,” culture (Hummert, 2011) and across the an age-related tendency to shift processing world (Löckenhoff et al., 2009). To some resources away from negatively valenced extent, such pessimistic views present an material, toward the positive (Carstensen & accurate portrayal of age-related declines in Mikels, 2005; Mather & Carstensen, 2005). physical, sensory, and cognitive abilities (for After reviewing evidence for age differences reviews, see, e.g., Birren & Schaie, 2006; in specific aspects of emotion regulation, we Craik & Salthouse, 2008). Given the per- consider practical implications for interper- vasiveness of such losses, one might expect sonal relationships, decision making, and— to find a similar downward trajectory in the ultimately—longevity. We conclude by iden- emotional lives and social relationships of tifying open questions and contextualizing older individuals. However, counter to such age differences in positive emotions within expectations, it has become increasingly the broader framework of life-span develop- clear that healthy aging is associated with ment. stable or improved socioemotional well- being (see Carstensen, Mikels, & Mather, 2006; Charles & Carstensen, 2010; Scheibe Age Differences in Positive Emotions & Carstensen, 2010). To provide the reader and Emotional Well‑Being with a better understanding of this appar- ent paradox, this chapter reviews theoreti- Psychological well-being has been concep- Copyright © 2014. Guilford Publications. All rights reserved. rights All Publications. Guilford 2014. © Copyright cal explanations, considers underlying emo- tualized in terms of life satisfaction, nega- tion regulatory mechanisms, and explores tive and positive affectivity, and the absence practical implications for the lives of older of psychopathology (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & adults. Smith, 1999). A review of the extant litera-

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ture reveals convergent age trajectories across sler et al., 2005). Similarly, in the National these aspects of well-being. With regard to Health Interview Survey, the one-month life satisfaction, early cross-sectional studies prevalence of serious psychological distress indicated that despite age-related declines in was significantly higher in midlife than in income and increased rates of widowhood, old age (age 65 and over; Centers for Disease well-being remained stable and relatively Control and Prevention [CDC], 2006). high through middle age and into later life In summary, despite the numerous losses (for a review, see Diener et al., 1999). Sub- that occur in later life, advanced age appears sequent longitudinal research found that life to be associated with stable or even improved satisfaction increases until ages 65–70, at levels of emotional well-being, positive emo- which point there is a decline (Mroczek & tions, and mental health. Although there is Spiro, 2005). However, this late life decline general consensus about the size and direc- appears to be due to proximity to death, not tion of this effect, there is less agreement chronological age per se (also see Gerstorf about the underlying mechanisms. et al., 2010). Thus, as measured by life satisfaction, well-being appears generally to Theoretical Perspectives increase with healthy aging. Similar patterns have been observed for Over the past few decades, competing theo- trajectories of positive and negative affect. retical explanations for age-related patterns In both cross-sectional and longitudinal in emotional well-being have been proposed studies, older adults report lower levels of (see Table 15.1). These theories vary in not negative affect and relatively stable levels only the specific mechanisms proposed to of positive affect relative to younger adults underlie age effects but also the degree to (Carstensen, Pasupathi, Mayr, & Nes- which they conceptualize age-related func- selroade, 2000; Carstensen et al., 2011; tional losses as a contributing factor. Charles, Reynolds, & Gatz, 2001; Mroczek At one end of the spectrum, it has been & Kolarz, 1998). Importantly, these patterns argued that sustained well-being in late life are consistent across methodologies and is a direct consequence of declines in cog- have been observed in retrospective ratings nitive and neural functioning. Cacioppo, of average emotional states (Charles et al., Berntson, Bechara, Tranel, and Hawkley 2001), as well as everyday emotional expe- (2011) suggest that age-related limitations riences assessed via experience sampling in the reactivity of affective brain circuits, (Carstensen et al., 2000, 2011). Such con- especially in the amygdala, may account for sistencies indicate that age-related changes decreased negative affect in advanced age. in the tracking and recall of one’s emotional Similarly, Labouvie-Vief’s (2003) dynamic experiences cannot account for the observed integration theory (DIT; Labouvie-Vief, improvements in affect. Moreover, results Grühn, & Studer, 2010) contends that emo- are not limited to temporary mood states but tional and cognitive functioning are inex- also are found at the level of dispositional tricably linked. According to DIT, positive emotions: Large-scale longitudinal studies emotional development reflects a dynamic and comprehensive meta-analyses have doc- balance between “optimization” (i.e., a umented age-related increases in emotional hedonic emphasis on positive emotions) and stability and decreases in the propensity “differentiation” (i.e., the ability to tolerate to experience negative emotions (Roberts, mixed and negative emotions to maintain a Walton, & Viechtbauer, 2006; Terracciano, realistic view of the world and the self). Age- McCrae, Brant, & Costa, 2005). related limitations in cognitive resources are Epidemiological evidence also suggests thought to shift this balance toward optimi- that psychopathology declines with age, zation, which is less cognitively demanding with the exception of dementia and other than differentiation. neurological conditions specific to later life. Life-span developmental frameworks, In a nationally representative U.S. sample, such as Baltes’s model of selective optimiza- Copyright © 2014. Guilford Publications. All rights reserved. rights All Publications. Guilford 2014. © Copyright the prevalence of anxiety, mood, and sub- tion with compensation (SOC; Baltes, 1997; stance abuse disorders was found to be sig- Baltes & Baltes, 1990), take a more optimis- nificantly lower among those age 60 and tic stance. According to the SOC model, age- older compared to younger age groups (Kes- related losses in various areas of functioning

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TABLE 15.1. Theoretical Models of Adult Life-Span Emotional Development Theory Abbreviation Primary mechanism Developmental outcome Aging brain model ABM Selective age-related neural Dampened emotional response to (Cacioppo) degradation in systems and memory for negative stimuli processing negative stimuli

Dynamic integration DIT Age-related limitations in Shift in dynamic balance from theory (Labouvie-Vief) cognitive resources affect differentiation toward optimization

Selective optimization SOC With advancing age, Increased selectivity in goal with compensation developmental losses pursuit and devotion of (Baltes) outweigh gains across resources to goal pursuit; use multiple areas of of compensatory strategies to functioning counteract losses

Selective optimization SOC-ER Age-related shifts in Selection and optimization of and compensation with internal and external emotion regulatory strategies emotion regulation resources that draw on resources which are (Urry & Gross) enhanced or preserved with age

Motivational theory of MTL Age-related losses in Increased reliance on internal lifespan development primary control (i.e., secondary control mechanisms (Heckhausen) control over environment) over primary control mechanisms

Socioemotional SST Age-related shifts in goals Prioritization of emotionally selectivity theory as a result of limitations in meaningful present-oriented (Carstensen) future time perspective goals over information-related future-oriented goals

Strength and SAVI Age-related shifts in Prioritization of antecedent- over vulnerability the balance of emotion response-focused strategies; integration (Charles) regulatory strengths and impaired coping with extended vulnerabilities and intense negative experiences

lead individuals to be more selective in their and goal adjustment are thought to remain goal pursuit, optimizing personally relevant viable into advanced old age. Both the SOC goals while employing compensatory strate- and MTL frameworks emphasize the active gies in other aspects of life. Thus, successful role of older adults in responding to func- functioning and emotional well-being can tional losses with emotion regulatory strat- be maintained despite compounding losses. egies and flexible goal adjustment. Never- In a recent extension of this model (selective theless, these theories consider age-related optimization and compensation with emo- declines in functional capacity as a driving tion regulation, SOC-ER), Urry and Gross force of age differences in emotions. (2010) have argued that in advanced age, Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST), individuals selectively engage in regulatory in contrast, emphasizes age-associated strategies that draw on resources that are changes in future time horizons and their well preserved with age. implications for motivational priorities and In a similar vein, the motivational the- emotional experience (Carstensen, 2006; ory of life-span development (MTL; Heck- Carstensen, Isaacowitz, & Charles, 1999). hausen, Wrosch, & Schulz, 2010) argues Specifically, the theory proposes that when that “primary control,” the ability to exert future time horizons are perceived as expan- Copyright © 2014. Guilford Publications. All rights reserved. rights All Publications. Guilford 2014. © Copyright active control over one’s physical and social sive, as is typical in youth, individuals pri- environment, peaks in midlife and declines oritize future-oriented goals such as infor- in old age. In contrast, secondary control mation acquisition and the development of mechanisms aimed at emotion regulation extended social networks. As time horizons

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narrow and one’s future time is perceived as whereas prohedonic motivations dominate more limited, as is typical in older age, indi- in old age (Riediger, Schmiedek, Wagner, & viduals focus on goals that are relevant to Lindenberger, 2009). the present moment. This motivational shift Emotion regulatory strategies can be is thought to lead to a prioritization of posi- broadly classified according to the stage of tively valenced and emotionally meaningful the emotion generation process that is tar- experiences. geted (Gross, 1998; Urry & Gross, 2010). Finally, in an effort to integrate existing Early on, people may actively select or avoid theories into a broader theoretical frame- specific emotion-generating situations (situ- work, Charles’s (2010) strength and vulner- ation selection). Once a given situation is ability integration (SAVI) model argues that encountered, people may try to change the from an emotion regulatory point of view, situation (situation modification), or direct aging is associated with both strengths (e.g., their attention toward favorable aspects of life experience, shifts in time horizons and the situation (attentional deployment). At goal priorities) and weaknesses (i.e., reduced later stages of the emotion generation cycle, physiological flexibility). This model further individuals may modify their appraisal of the posits that older adults fare better in situ- situation (cognitive change). Finally, once a ations in which attentional strategies, reap- given emotion has been elicited, people may praisal, or situation selection are feasible, attempt to change its subjective experience but respond less favorably to situations or external expression (response modula- involving sustained negative arousal. tion; Opitz, Gross, & Urry, 2012; Urry & Table 15.1 summarizes the proposed Gross, 2010). mechanisms and developmental outcomes To date, the literature on emotional aging in each of the theoretical explanations. To has focused disproportionately on the early evaluate their relative merit, we proceed by stages of the emotion regulatory process. The reviewing the evidence for age differences in most striking evidence for age-related shifts the strategic processing of emotional infor- comes from research examining “motivated mation, as well as other types of emotion cognition,” that is, the strategic allocation regulatory strategies. of processing resources to support desired outcomes or emotional states (Mather & Carstensen, 2005). Although some aspects Age Differences in Emotion Regulation of cognitive functioning remain stable or and the Age‑Related Positivity Effect improve with age (e.g., crystallized intel- ligence and implicit memory), effortful and The broad term “emotion regulation” deliberative processing abilities generally encompasses a variety of strategies aimed at decline across the adult life span (Craik et altering emotional states to align better with al., 2008). However, several early studies personal goals and priorities. Importantly, indicated that older adults remember emo- emotion regulatory goals are not always tional material better than other types of “prohedonic” (i.e., aimed at maximizing material (Carstensen & Turk-Charles, 1994; positive emotions). In some situations, indi- Fung & Carstensen, 2003; Hashtroudi, viduals may follow contrahedonic motiva- Johnson, & Chrosniak, 1990). Older adults’ tions and purposely elicit or maintain nega- focus on emotionally salient information tive states, for instance, to motivate effortful may reflect, in part, a strategic shift toward performance (Tamir, Chiu, & Gross, 2007) affect-rich and experience-based processing or to gain self-knowledge (Labouvie-Vief et modes that are relatively spared from cog- al., 2010). As noted earlier, SST proposes an nitive decline (Peters, Diefenbach, Hess, & age-related shift from future-oriented goals Vastfjäll, 2007). toward goals aimed at optimizing the pres- Crucially, age groups differ not only in ent moment. Consistent with this notion, their emphasis on emotional material in evidence from a large-scale experience sam- general but also their relative emphasis on Copyright © 2014. Guilford Publications. All rights reserved. rights All Publications. Guilford 2014. © Copyright pling study suggests that the relative balance positive relative to negative material. While between pro- and contrahedonic goals shifts there is long-standing evidence for a cogni- with age, such that contrahedonic motiva- tive processing bias toward negative mate- tions are most prevalent in adolescence, rial among younger adults (for reviews,

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see Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, & negative material is consistent with accounts Vohs, 2001; Rozin & Royzman, 2001), this based on selective deterioration in the pattern does not extend across the entire life neural circuits supporting negative affect span (Carstensen et al., 2006; Carstensen (Cacioppo et al., 2011). However, neural & Mikels, 2005; Mather & Carstensen, degradation and decline may not be the pri- 2005). Instead, the allocation of processing mary mechanism. In fact, recent evidence resources appears to shift with age toward suggests that the positivity effect depends positive relative to negative information, a on better, not worse, cognitive functioning. pattern termed the “age-related positivity Mather and Knight (2005) found that the effect” (Carstensen & Mikels, 2005). memory bias toward positive material was Over the past decade, the positivity effect limited to older adults who scored higher on has been observed across a wide range of a measure of cognitive control. Moreover, in methods and stimulus types. In studies divided attention tasks, in which cognitive examining attentional deployment, both resources are occupied by a competing task, dot-probe tasks and eye-tracking tech- older adults do not show a positivity effect nologies show an age-related focus toward (Mather & Knight, 2005) or even focus on positive and/or away from negative mate- the negative (Knight et al., 2007). rial (Allard & Isaacowitz, 2008; Banner- Furthermore, consistent with the notion man & Regner, 2011; Isaacowitz & Choi, that the positivity effect serves an emotion 2011; Isaacowitz, Wadlinger, Goren, & regulatory function, older adults spend more Wilson, 2006a, 2006b; Knight et al., 2007; time looking at positive stimuli after a nega- Mather & Carstensen, 2003). The positiv- tive mood induction, whereas younger adults ity effect has also been found in working look more at negative, mood-congruent memory (Mikels, Larkin, Reuter-Lorenz, stimuli in this situation (Isaacowitz, Toner, & Carstensen, 2005) and memory for emo- Goren, & Wilson, 2008). Looking toward tionally salient scenes, facial expressions, positive and away from negative stimuli and words (Charles, Mather, & Carstensen, leads to more positive moods—but only for 2003, Chung, 2010; Grady, Hongwan- older adults with higher levels of attentional ishkul, Keightley, Lee, & Hasher, 2007; functioning (Isaacowitz, Toner, & Neupert, Grühn, Scheibe, & Baltes, 2007; Kensinger, 2009). In fact, attentional deployment may 2008; Langeslag & van Strien, 2009; Lei- be a particularly effective emotion regula- gland, Schulz, & Janowsky, 2004; Spaniol, tory strategy for older adults. When focus- Voss, & Grady, 2008; but see, e.g., Den- ing attention away from a negative film clip burg, Buchanan, Tranel, & Adolphs, 2003; and toward positive memories, older adults Grühn, Smith, & Baltes, 2005), as well as showed a larger drop in negative emotions for autobiographical memory (Kennedy, than did their younger counterparts (Phil- Mather, & Carstensen, 2004; Ready, Wein- lips, Henry, Hosie, & Milne, 2008). In sum- berger, & Jones, 2007; Schlagman, Schulz, mary, there is consistent support for the view & Kvavilashvili, 2006), and false memory that the positivity effect represents a form of (Fernandes, Ross, Wiegand, & Schryer, motivated cognition driven by age-related 2008). shifts toward prohedonic emotion regula- Corresponding patterns emerge at the tory strategies. neural level. Specifically, neural reactiv- Compared to the rich research record ity to negative stimuli appears to be lower on age-related shifts in the deployment of among older adults, whereas reactivity to processing resources, much less is known positive stimuli does not change with age. about situation selection and modification, Convergent evidence for such effects comes although mounting evidence suggests that from electroencephalographic (EEG) studies the age-related positivity effect extends to examining event-related potentials (Kisley, the earliest stages of the emotion regulation Wood, & Burrows, 2007), as well as func- cycle. In groundbreaking work using narra- tional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tive vignettes, Blanchard-Fields, Jahnke, and Copyright © 2014. Guilford Publications. All rights reserved. rights All Publications. Guilford 2014. © Copyright studies examining the activation of subcor- Camp (1995; for a review, see Blanchard- tical emotional circuits including the amyg- Fields, 2007), found that older adults avoided dala (Mather et al., 2004). At first glance, situations that might elicit negative emotions the selective dampening of responses to to a greater extent than did younger adults.

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Rovenpor, Skogsberg, and Isaacowitz (2013) dence suggests that reappraisal is more effec- recently extended these findings to a labora- tive in younger age groups (Urry & Gross, tory setting. They allowed older and younger 2010). In part, age differences in the benefits adults to choose among multiple affective of cognitive reappraisal may depend on the streams consisting of video clips and reading specific type of strategy that is employed. In material that varied in emotional valence. particular, older adults are less adept than Age differences were limited to participants younger adults at using strategies that rely with high emotion regulatory efficacy, but on emotional detachment from the current within that group, older adults chose less situation but superior at reappraising situa- negative material (relative to neutral and tions in a more positive manner (Shiota & positive material), whereas younger adults Levenson, 2009). chose more negative material. This finding Evidence for age differences in response is not only consistent with an age-related modulation is similarly mixed. When emphasis on prohedonic goals, but it also stimuli are age-appropriate, older adults’ suggests that successful emotion regulation self-reported and physiological emotional depends on perceived resources in the form responses are at least as strong as those of of emotion regulatory efficacy. younger adults (Kunzmann & Grühn, 2005; Evidence for age differences in situation Kunzmann & Richter, 2009; Magai, Conse- modification is similarly limited, but recent dine, Krivoshekova, Kudadjie-Gyamfi, & findings suggest that age groups differ in McPherson, 2006). Thus, observed age the construction of temporal sequences effects are not well explained by age dec- of emotional events. When asked to view rements in emotional reactivity or emotion a series of positive, negative, and neutral regulatory load. Also, age effects appear images, younger adults constructed improv- to differ depending on whether modula- ing sequences that saved the best images tory strategies target outward expression for last, whereas older adults constructed as opposed to interior states. Research with spreading sequences that avoided prolonged younger adults has found that the suppres- clusters of negative images (Löckenhoff, sion of emotional behaviors and expressions Reed, & Maresca, 2012). These findings can take a toll on subjective well-being and are consistent with the SAVI model, which social relationships (Butler et al., 2003). suggests that older adults avoid sustained Given older adults’ prioritization of pro- emotional arousal because it prevents a hedonic goals, one would expect to see an threat to homeostasis (Charles, 2010), and age-related decrease in such strategies, and also support SST insofar as a preference for the literature generally supports this idea spreading sequences was found to be associ- (John & Gross, 2004). However, when ated with more limited future time horizons older adults are asked to actively suppress or (Löckenhoff et al., 2012). amplify their emotional expressions, they do Taken together, the literature offers con- so just as effectively as their younger coun- sistent evidence of age-related stability or terparts (Kunzmann, Kupperbusch, & Lev- improvement in antecedent-focused forms of enson, 2005; Phillips et al., 2008; Shiota & emotion regulation. In comparison, research Levenson, 2009). Thus, age differences in on age differences in the later stages of emo- the use of expressive modulation are likely tion regulation is much more limited. From a to reflect proactive preferences rather than theoretical point of view, SOC-ER and SAVI passive losses in the necessary skills. Older proponents would agree that age-related adults also perform as well as younger decrements in effortful processing and phys- adults in modulating internal affective states iological resilience may limit older adults’ (Scheibe & Blanchard-Fields, 2009), and use of response-focused emotion regulatory this type of emotion modulation appears strategies (Charles, 2010; Urry & Gross, to be less cognitively depleting for older 2010). Empirical evidence, however, reveals than for younger adults: When instructed a more complex pattern. to down-regulate their feelings after view- Copyright © 2014. Guilford Publications. All rights reserved. rights All Publications. Guilford 2014. © Copyright With regard to cognitive change strate- ing a disgust-inducing video, younger adults gies, older adults report using cognitive showed reduced working memory perfor- reappraisal more frequently than do younger mance, whereas older adults did not (Scheibe adults (John & Gross, 2004), but recent evi- & Blanchard-Fields, 2009).

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In summary, the literature suggests that iar social partners over novel social partners most emotion regulatory skills are preserved (Fredrickson & Carstensen, 1990; Fung across the life span. Older adults are not only & Carstensen, 2004; Fung, Carstensen, & well equipped to manage their emotions, Lutz, 1999). Also, older adults’ actual social but, consistent with SST, they are more likely networks are smaller and contain a greater to pursue prohedonic goals aimed at reduc- proportion of close social partners than do ing negative or fostering positive states. In the networks of younger adults (Lang & support of the SAVI and SOC-ER models, Carstensen, 2002). Importantly, age differ- older adults appear to rely more heavily on ences in network characteristics appear to be attentional deployment than younger adults, due to a process of active pruning rather than and they may select and structure emotional passive loss. In a longitudinal study of older experience in a way that avoids prolonged adults’ social networks, perceived closeness negative emotions. At the same time, there to death was associated with a deliberate is little evidence that age differences in emo- discontinuation of peripheral social relation regulation are driven by age-related tionships, whereas relationships with close cognitive losses. The positivity effect relies relatives and life partners were selectively on active control mechanisms, and some strengthened (Lang, 2000). aspects of emotion regulation actually Older adults are not only selective about appear to be less resource intensive for older their social networks but also the types of relative to younger adults. In combination, interactions in which they engage. When age differences in emotion regulatory moti- asked to develop solutions for hypothetical vations and mechanisms provide a plausible problem scenarios, older adults are more account for the preservation of emotional likely than their younger counterparts to well-being into the later years. avoid interpersonal conflicts (Blanchard- Fields, 2007; Blanchard-Fields et al., 1995). In the same vein, daily diary and actual Implications for Successful Functioning dyadic interaction studies examining exposure and reactivity to interpersonal tensions Thus far, this review has focused on basic revealed that older adults used more avoid- laboratory studies, but age-related shifts ant and less confrontational strategies than in emotion regulatory strategies may have their younger counterparts, resulting in practical implications for successful func- more positive emotions (Birditt & Finger- tioning in a variety of life domains. In the man, 2005; Birditt, Fingerman, & Almeida, following sections we illustrate such effects 2005; Lefkowitz & Fingerman, 2003). In with regard to social relationships, decision concrete terms, whereas younger adults were making, and—ultimately— longevity. more likely to actively exit confrontations or raise their voices, older adults were more likely simply to “do nothing” (Birditt & Fin- Relationships german, 2005). Across the life span, perceived social support When avoidant strategies are not possible, and a strong social network are important older adults may actively infuse the situation predictors of mental and physical well-being with positive affect. In a laboratory study (Stephens, Alpass, Towers, & Stevenson, in which couples were asked to discuss a 2011). Consistent with an age-related empha- topic of mutual conflict, older, compared sis on situation selection, SST suggests that to middle-aged, couples were more likely older individuals restructure their social con- to express affection or temporarily switch tacts to create tight-knit networks of familiar to a more favorable topic (Carstensen, social partners that are conducive to emo- Gottman, & Levenson, 1995; Levenson, tionally meaningful and positively valenced Carstensen, Gottman, 1994). Nevertheless, interactions (Carstensen, 2006; Carstensen recent evidence suggests that age-related et al., 1999). Empirical evidence for such reductions in interpersonal tensions are lim- Copyright © 2014. Guilford Publications. All rights reserved. rights All Publications. Guilford 2014. © Copyright effects comes from a variety of sources. In ited to situations in which conflict can be studies of social partner preferences, older avoided; actual confrontations are found adults and those with limited time hori- to be equally upsetting for adults of all ages zons were found to prefer close and famil- (Charles, Piazza, Luong, & Almeida, 2009).

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Consistent with an age-related empha- form of situation selection because they limit sis on prohedonic motivation, age differ- exposure to emotionally aversive tradeoffs ences in interpersonal strategies appear to that are part and parcel of complex decision benefit emotional well-being. Older adults making (Luce, Payne, & Bettman, 2000). with small and close-knit social networks Similarly, older adults have been observed report lower interpersonal strain (Lang & to seek out and examine less informa- Carstensen, 2002), and older adults’ use of tion before making decisions than their avoidant strategies is associated with lower younger counterparts (for a review, see interpersonal tension and greater relation- Mata & Nunes, 2010). In part, this likely ship satisfaction (Birditt & Fingerman, reflects age-related deficits in the ability to 2005; Birditt et al., 2005; Lefkowitz & Fin- manipulate large amounts of information. german, 2003). In general, advanced age is Indeed, older adults show deficits in infor- associated with better marriages, greater mation comprehension and in the integra- perceived social support, and less interper- tion of information across situations (e.g., sonal conflict than in younger age (Finger- Finucane, Mertz, Slovic, & Schmidt, 2005; man & Charles, 2010). Finucane et al., 2002). However, age-related Despite the obvious emotional benefits, decrements in information seeking do not older adults’ tendency to avoid conflict and affect all types of information equally. reappraise interactions in positive terms also Instead, the observed age pattern is consis- carries certain risks because it may prevent tent with motivated resource deployment a realistic assessment of relationship con- and the age-related positivity effect. In par- cerns. For instance, when discussing a dis- ticular, when older and younger adults are agreement with their spouses, older adults presented with tabular arrays of decision were more likely than middle-aged adults to options, older adults review and recall more view their spouse’s behavior as positive, even positive versus negative information than do when independent observers did not (Story younger adults (Löckenhoff & Carstensen, et al., 2007). A similar tension between 2007, 2008; Mather, Knight, & McCaffrey, potential benefits and detriments of age dif- 2005). Consistent with SST, a greater focus ferences in emotion regulatory strategies is on positive choice attributes is associated seen in the context of decision making. with limited future time horizons (Löcken- hoff & Carstensen, 2007). Similarly, when presented with a choice among everyday Decision Making items (e.g., a pen, a mug) and asked explic- Older adults are often charged with the itly to evaluate the options, older adults list task of making crucial, complex decisions a greater number of positive versus nega- in domains such as retirement investment, tive attributes than do younger adults (Kim, health care, and prescription drug coverage. Healey, Goldstein, Hasher, & Wiprzycka, Recent findings indicate that such decisions 2008). require both emotional and cognitive capac- In further support for an age-related posi- ities (see, e.g., Kahneman, 2003; Slovic, tivity effect in judgment and decision mak- Peters, Finucane, & MacGregor, 2005). ing, age groups differentially display one Thus, although much of the research on of the most robust biases in human deci- aging and decision making has focused on sion making: the “framing effect” (i.e., the cognitive decline (Sanfey & Hastie, 2000), phenomenon whereby superficial differ- age-related changes in affective processing ences in the description of a given choice and emotion regulatory strategies are likely substantially alter people’s preferences). For to play a role as well. For example, older instance, risk seeking is typically found to adults’ tendency to avoid decisions (Dror, be greater when alternatives are described as Katona, & Mungur, 1998), to delegate deci- losses versus gains, underscoring the impact sions (Finucane et al., 2002; Meyer, Russo, of negative losses on younger adults (Kahn- & Talbot, 1995), and to rely on simplified eman & Tversky, 2000). Recent evidence Copyright © 2014. Guilford Publications. All rights reserved. rights All Publications. Guilford 2014. © Copyright decision rules (Johnson, 1990, 1993) is typi- indicates that, in contrast to younger adults, cally interpreted as a consequence of age- older adults do not show risk seeking in loss related limitation in cognitive resources. frames, which suggests that losses are less However, such patterns may also reflect a impactful for older adults (Mikels & Reed,

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2009). Furthermore, whereas younger adults are associated with lower mortality in both respond equally to gains and losses, older healthy populations and patient samples adults show reduced responses to losses, (Maruta, Colligan, Malinchoc, & Offord, and intact neural and affective responses to 2000; Novotny et al., 2010; Terracciano, gains (Samanez-Larkin et al., 2007). Also, Löckenhoff, Zonderman, Ferrucci, & Costa, consistent with this general pattern, older 2008; see also Moskowitz & Saslow, Chap- relative to younger adults were found to be ter 24, this volume). The benefits of positive more responsive to health messages when affect are not limited to dispositions. In a they were framed in positive versus negative sample of nuns, the proportion of positive terms (Shamaskin, Mikels, & Reed, 2010). emotional content in written biographies In decision making, as in social relation- composed in the early 20s predicted survival ships, age differences in the processing and up to six decades later (Danner, Snowdon, & regulation of emotions may have beneficial Friesen, 2001). Similar effects are found for and detrimental consequences. Consistent everyday emotional experiences. Carstensen with an age-related prioritization of prohe- and colleagues (2011) followed adults of donic goals, older adults’ emphasis on posi- different ages across a 13-year span. Those tive choice characteristics is associated with individuals who experienced more positive more positive emotional experiences during versus negative emotions were more likely to the decision-making process (Löckenhoff survive. Importantly, the experience of posi- & Carstensen, 2008), more favorable recall tive emotions predicted longevity above and of past choices (Löckenhoff & Carstensen, beyond age, sex, and ethnicity. Finally, there 2007, 2008; Mather & Johnson, 2000), and is mounting evidence that positive attitudes greater choice satisfaction (Kim et al., 2008). toward the aging process are associated with Moreover, relying on emotion-focused enhanced longevity. In a series of studies, decision-making styles may help older adults Levy and colleagues (Levy & Myers, 2005; to make objectively better decisions because, Levy, Slade, Kunkel, & Kasl, 2002; Levy, relative to deliberative decision strategies, Slade, May, & Caracciolo, 2006) have found intuitive processing is comparatively well that individuals with more positive attitudes preserved with age (Queen & Hess, 2010). toward their own aging process experienced Consistent with this idea, older adults made better health outcomes and lower mortality. better decisions in hypothetical health care Taken together, these findings suggest that scenarios when focusing on their emotional while positivity benefits health and longevity reactions versus the actual details, whereas across the life span, it may take on particu- younger adults showed the opposite pattern lar relevance in advanced age as individuals (Mikels et al., 2010). Thus, reliance on emo- face various health challenges and confront tion and intuition may offer older adults a negative societal stereotypes about the aging path toward sound and satisfactory choices. process. Future research is needed to exam- However, exclusive reliance on this type of ine the specific mechanisms by which age processing may sometimes lead to flawed differences in emotion regulatory strategies decisions (Gilovich, Griffin, & Kahneman, may translate into better physical health. 2002). Moreover, the age-related positivity effect could put older adults at risk of over- looking critical disadvantages of decision Directions for Future Research options, and may make them more suscep- tible to fraud and false advertising (Löcken- This review of the literature indicates that hoff & Carstensen, 2004). despite age-related losses across many domains of functioning, positive emotions and emotional well-being remain stable or Positivity and Increased Longevity even show improvement well into advanced Ultimately, the age-related emphasis on old age. Although a variety of theoretical positive emotions and emotional well-being explanations of these effects has been pro- Copyright © 2014. Guilford Publications. All rights reserved. rights All Publications. Guilford 2014. © Copyright may confer significant benefits in terms of posed, well-preserved emotion-regulatory longevity. A long research tradition examin- skills and the selective use of specific pro- ing personality predictors of longevity indi- cessing strategies appear to play key roles. cates that emotional stability and optimism In general, the pattern of results is consistent

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with a proactive shift toward prohedonic also able to reduce their focus on the posi- goals driven by age-related limitations in tive in response to situational demands. future time horizons. In contrast, there is The positivity effect in autobiographical little evidence that the observed age trajec- memory (Kennedy et al., 2004) and pre- tories are the result of neural or cognitive decisional information search (Löckenhoff deficits, although—consistent with SAVI— & Carstensen, 2007) is eliminated if instruc- adaptive responses to vulnerabilities in other tional manipulations elicit information- aspects of functioning may be a contributing seeking as opposed to emotion regulatory factor. goals. Notably, in two studies that failed Apart from their theoretical relevance, to find evidence for an age-related positiv- age differences in emotion regulatory strate- ity effect, participants were informed in gies have important practical implications. advance that their retention of the presented In this chapter, we have illustrated such material would be assessed (Denburg et al., effects in the contexts of interpersonal rela- 2003; Grühn et al., 2005), likely activating tionships, decision making, and longevity, information-seeking goals. In combination, but other domains of functioning may be these results suggest that age differences in affected as well. As discussed earlier, age- emotion regulatory strategies can be modu- related shifts in emotional processing may lated in response to situational demands, have both beneficial and detrimental effects and that older adults may be at least partially on successful functioning. Targeted inter- aware of their emotional biases. To date, ventions to address potential vulnerabili- however, such findings remain limited to the ties of older populations are needed, but, to attentional deployment stage of the emotion date, important gaps in the research record regulatory process, representing another hamper their development. important gap in the research record. First, it is critical to understand the extent Few studies of age differences in emotion to which older adults are aware of age- regulation have clearly differentiated among related shifts in emotion regulatory strate- different stages of regulation. Whereas some gies, and the degree to which such strate- studies use wording that could apply equally gies can be modulated by instructional to all types of emotion regulation (Gross et manipulations. With regard to the positivity al., 1997), others focus only on select types. effect, initial evidence is quite promising. In recent years, the information-processing Two studies suggest that whereas younger stage of emotion regulation has received dis- adults are not aware of the positivity effect, proportionate attention, because research older adults have some insight into its exis- on the age-related positivity effect has tence. For example, when asked to take the dominated the field (Scheibe & Carstensen, perspective of another person in retelling a 2010). Although this body of work is critical story, older adults used a greater proportion in many ways, it may be equally worthwhile of positive versus negative words when tak- to direct attention to both earlier and later ing the perspective of an older compared to stages of the emotion generation process. younger target person. In contrast, the emo- In doing so, the process model of emotion tional content of younger adults’ responses regulation (Gross, 1998; Urry & Gross, was not affected by the age of the target per- 2010) can serve as a guide to categorize son (Sullivan, Mikels, & Carstensen, 2010). specific regulatory strategies within a gen- Similarly, Löckenhoff and Carstensen eral framework. Particularly important gaps (2008) found that older adults reviewed a in the literature concern situation selection greater proportion of positive information and modification. Also, affective forecast- than did younger adults when making deci- ing skills, which are a key prerequisite for sions for themselves or another older person, selecting emotionally satisfying situations, but equal proportions of positive and nega- constitute an important avenue for future tive material when deciding for a younger research (Löckenhoff, 2011; Nielsen, Knut- person. Younger adults, in contrast, did not son, & Carstensen, 2008; Scheibe, Mata, & Copyright © 2014. Guilford Publications. All rights reserved. rights All Publications. Guilford 2014. © Copyright modulate their search patterns across target Carstensen, 2010). persons. When examining age differences in vari- Importantly, older adults are not only ous emotion regulatory strategies, it is also aware of the positivity effect, but they are critical to differentiate between older adults’

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preferences for a given strategy and their remaining gaps in the literature have been ability to implement that strategy success- closed and a better understanding of the fully. As exemplified by age patterns in the underlying mechanisms has been acquired, modulation of emotional expressions (John it may be possible to leverage the emotion & Gross, 2004), the finding that older adults regulatory strategies typically employed by do not typically rely on a certain strategy older adults to offer younger populations need not imply that they are unable to use an early glimpse at the serenity and balance that strategy when prompted to do so (Kun- of late life. Given the associations between zmann et al., 2005). A better understand- positivity and lower mortality, this approach ing of divergent age trajectories in emotion holds the promise of not only happier but regulatory skills versus preferences would also longer lives. provide key insights into the underlying mechanisms. Finally, future studies should examine References the universality of age trajectories in emotional well-being and regulatory strategies. Allard, E. S., & Isaacowitz, D. M. (2008). Are Following SST, one would expect that age- preferences in emotional processing affected related limitations in time horizons and the by distraction?: Examining the age-related associated emphasis on emotional meaning positivity effect in visual fixation within a are found regardless of cultural context. dual-task paradigm. Aging, Neuropsychol- However, in individualistic U.S. cultures, ogy, and Cognition, 15, 725–743. the pursuit of emotionally meaningful goals Baltes, P. B. (1997). On the incomplete archi- is likely to coincide with the optimization tecture of human ontogeny: Selection, opti- of personal well-being. Conceivably, differ- mization, and compensation as foundation of ential patterns may emerge for interdepen- developmental theory. American Psycholo- dent cultures where the well-being of the gist, 52, 366–380. group takes priority. Consistent with this Baltes, P. B., & Baltes, M. M. (1990). Selective idea, the positivity effect in attention and optimization with compensation. In P. B. memory in older Chinese participants was Baltes & M. M. Baltes (Ed), Successful aging: found to be less pronounced among those Perspectives from the behavioral sciences whose self-concepts were more interdepen- (pp. 1–34). New York: Cambridge University dent than among those who were more inde- Press. pendent (Fung, Isaacowitz, Lu, & Li, 2010). Bannerman, R. L., & Regner, P. (2011). Binocu- At the same time, cross-cultural differences lar rivalry: A window into emotional process- in emotion regulatory strategies and priori- ing in aging. Psychology and Aging, 26(2), ties need to be differentiated from culture- 372–380. specific interpretations of emotional stimuli. Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, For instance, a study examining memory C., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Bad is stronger for emotional images in younger versus than good. Review of General Psychology, 5, older Koreans found a positivity effect, 323–373. but only when cultural and age differences Birditt, K. S., & Fingerman, K. L. (2005). Do we in valence ratings were taken into account get better at picking our battles?: Age group (Kwon, Scheibe, Samanez-Larkin, Tsai, & differences in descriptions of behavioral reac- Carstensen, 2009). Clearly, further research tions to interpersonal tensions. Journals of examining a wider range of cultures, using Gerontology B: Psychological Sciences, 60(3), culturally appropriate stimuli, and cover- 121–128. ing a more comprehensive range of emotion Birditt, K. S., Fingerman, K. L., & Almeida, D. regulatory strategies, is needed. M. (2005). Age differences in exposure and In conclusion, while studies of age differ- reactions to interpersonal tensions: A daily ences in cognitive skills and physical prow- diary study. Psychology and Aging, 20, 330– ess may paint a rather bleak picture of the 340. Copyright © 2014. Guilford Publications. All rights reserved. rights All Publications. Guilford 2014. © Copyright later years, age trajectories of positive emo- Birren, J., & Schaie, K. (2006). Handbook of tions and emotional well-being offer a more the psychology of aging (6th ed.). Amsterdam: optimistic outlook, emphasizing stability Elsevier. or even age-related improvement. Once the Blanchard-Fields, F. (2007). Everyday problem

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solving and emotion: An adult developmental Centers for Disease Control and Prevention perspective. Current Directions in Psychologi- (CDC). (2006). Early release of selected esti- cal Science, 16, 26–31. mates based on data from the January–June Blanchard-Fields, F., Jahnke, H. C., & Camp, 2006 National Health Interview Survey. C. (1995). Age differences in problem-solving Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/ style: The role of emotional salience. Psychol- earlyrelease/200612_13.pdf. ogy and Aging, 10(2), 173–180. Charles, S. T. (2010). Strength and vulnerability Butler, E. A., Egloff, B., Wilhelm, F. H., Smith, integration: A model of emotional well-being N. C., Erickson, E. A., & Gross, J. J. (2003). across adulthood. Psychological Bulletin, The social consequences of expressive suppres- 136(6), 1068–1091. sion. Emotion, 3(1), 48 – 67. Charles, S. T., & Carstensen, L. L. (2010). Social Cacioppo, J. T., Berntson, G. G., Bechara, A., and emotional aging. Annual Review of Psy- Tranel, D., & Hawkley, L. C. (2011). Could chology, 61, 383–409. an aging brain contribute to subjective well- Charles, S. T., Mather, M., & Carstensen, L. L. being?: The value added by a social neurosci- (2003). Aging and emotional memory: The ence perspective. In A. Todorov, S. T. Fiske, forgettable nature of negative images for older & D. A. Prentice (Eds.), Social neuroscience: adults. Journal of Experimental Psychology, Toward understanding the underpinnings of 132, 310–324. the social mind (pp. 249–262). New York: Charles, S. T., Piazza, J. R., Luong, G., & Oxford University Press. Almeida, D. A. (2009). Now you see it, now Carstensen, L. L. (2006). The influence of a you don’t: Age differences in affective reactiv- sense of time on human development. Science, ity to social tensions. Psychology and Aging, 312, 1913–1915. 24(3), 645–653. Carstensen, L. L., Gottman, J. M., & Levenson, Charles, S. T., Reynolds, C. A., & Gatz, M. R. W. (1995). Emotional behavior in long- (2001). Age-related differences and change term marriage. Psychology and Aging, 10(1), in positive and negative affect over 23 years. 140–149. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Carstensen, L. L., Isaacowitz, D. M., & Charles, 80, 136–151. S. T. (1999). Taking time seriously: A theory Chung, C. (2010). Effects of view of life and of socioemotional selectivity. American Psy- selection bias on emotional memory in old age. chologist, 54, 165–181. GeroPsych: The Journal of Gerontopsychol- Carstensen, L. L., & Mikels, J. A. (2005). At the ogy and Geriatric Psychiatry, 23(3), 161–168. intersection of emotion and cognition: Aging Craik, F. I. M., & Salthouse, T. A. (2008). The and the positivity effect. Current Direction handbook of aging and cognition (3rd ed.) Psychological Science, 14(3), 117–121. New York: Psychology Press. Carstensen, L. L., Mikels, J. A., & Mather, M. Danner, D. D., Snowdon, D. A., & Friesen, W. V. (2006). Aging and the intersection of cogni- (2001). Positive emotions in early life and lon- tion, motivation and emotion. In J. E. Birren gevity: Findings from the nun study. Journal & K. W., Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psy- of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(5), chology of aging (pp. 343–362). San Diego, 804–813. CA: Academic Press. Denburg, N. L., Buchanan, T. W., Tranel, D., Carstensen, L. L., Pasupathi, M., Mayr, U., & & Adolphs, R. (2003). Evidence for preserved Nesselroade, J. R. (2000). Emotional experi- emotional memory in normal older persons. ence in everyday life across the adult life span. Emotion, 3, 239–253. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, 79, 644–655. H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three Carstensen, L. L., Turan, B., Scheibe, S., Ram, decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, N., Ersner-Hershfeld, H., Samanez-Larkin, 125, 276–302. G. R., et al. (2011). Emotional experience Dror, I. E., Katona, M., & Mungur, K. (1998). improves with age: Evidence based on over 10 Age differences in decision making: To take a years of experience sampling. Psychology and risk or not? Gerontology, 44(2), 67–71. Copyright © 2014. Guilford Publications. All rights reserved. rights All Publications. Guilford 2014. © Copyright Aging, 26(1), 21–33. Fernandes, M., Ross, M., Wiegand, M., & Carstensen, L. L., & Turk-Charles, S. (1994). Schryer, E. (2008). Are the memories of older The salience of emotion across the adult life adults positively biased? Psychology and span. Psychology and Aging, 9(2), 259–264. Aging, 23, 297–306.

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