Aging is associated with positive responding to neutral information but reduced recovery from negative information.
Studies on aging and emotion suggest an increase in reported positive affect, a processing bias of positive over negative information, as well as increasingly adaptive regulation in response to negative events with advancing age. These findings imply that older individuals evaluate information differently, resulting in lowered reactivity to, and/or faster recovery from, negative information, while maintaining more positive responding to positive information. We examined this hypothesis in an ongoing study on Midlife in the US (MIDUS II) where emotional reactivity and recovery were assessed in a large number of respondents (N = 159) from a wide age range (36-84 years). We recorded eye-blink startle magnitudes and corrugator activity during and after the presentation of positive, neutral and negative pictures. The most robust age effect was found in response to neutral stimuli, where increasing age is associated with a decreased corrugator and eyeblink startle response to neutral stimuli. These data suggest that an age-related positivity effect does not essentially alter the response to emotion-laden information, but is reflected in a more positive interpretation of affectively ambiguous information. Furthermore, older women showed reduced corrugator recovery from negative pictures relative to the younger women and men, suggesting that an age-related prioritization of well-being is not necessarily reflected in adaptive regulation of negative affect.
van Reekum
Carien M
CM
Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights Campus, PO Box 238, Reading RG6 6AL, UK. c.vanreekum@reading.ac.uk
Schaefer
Stacey M
SM
Lapate
Regina C
RC
Norris
Catherine J
CJ
Greischar
Lawrence L
LL
Davidson
Richard J
RJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
J Cogn Neurosci. 2008 Jun;20(6):977-88
18211235
Psychol Bull. 1985 Mar;97(2):316-33
3983301
Psychophysiology. 2003 Sep;40(5):776-85
14696731
Am Psychol. 2006 Nov;61(8):741-756
17115806
Brain. 1996 Dec;119 ( Pt 6):1991-2000
9010003
Psychol Aging. 1987 Jun;2(2):171-84
3268206
J Pers Soc Psychol. 1986 Feb;50(2):260-8
3701577
Psychol Aging. 2009 Mar;24(1):217-23
19290754
Psychol Aging. 1997 Dec;12(4):590-9
9416628
J Abnorm Psychol. 1964 Apr;68:367-80
14136776
Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2007;64(3):217-44
17503687
Psychol Aging. 2006 Mar;21(1):40-8
16594790
J Pers. 2004 Dec;72(6):1395-424
15509287
J Abnorm Psychol. 1964 Aug;69:195-205
14213291
Psychol Aging. 1995 Mar;10(1):140-9
7779311
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003 Dec;1000:152-79
14766629
Psychol Aging. 2005 Mar;20(1):144-58
15769220
Psychol Bull. 1984 Jan;95(1):52-77
6242437
Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 1997;1(1):3-25
15647126
Behav Neurosci. 1993 Dec;107(6):970-80
8136072
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2005 Jan;60(1):P49-56
15643039
Behav Neurosci. 2004 Apr;118(2):429-37
15113270
Psychol Aging. 1991 Mar;6(1):28-35
2029364
Behav Res Methods. 2008 May;40(2):512-21
18522062
Psychol Rev. 1990 Jul;97(3):377-95
2200076
Psychophysiology. 1998 Jul;35(4):462-9
9643061
Psychol Aging. 2005 Mar;20(1):47-59
15769213
Psychol Sci. 2003 Nov;14(6):612-7
14629694
Trends Cogn Sci. 2005 Oct;9(10):496-502
16154382
Psychol Aging. 1992 Dec;7(4):551-61
1466824
Psychol Aging. 2000 Dec;15(4):684-93
11144327
Emotion. 2009 Oct;9(5):640-8
19803586
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2004 Nov;59(6):P261-9
15576853
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2008 May;63(3):P138-45
18559678
J Cogn Neurosci. 2007 Feb;19(2):237-48
17280513
Psychophysiology. 2005 Jan;42(1):1-15
15720576
Psychol Aging. 2005 Jun;20(2):330-40
16029096
Behav Neurosci. 1986 Feb;100(1):11-22
3954873
Psychophysiology. 2000 Jan;37(1):92-101
10705771
J Pers Soc Psychol. 1998 Nov;75(5):1333-49
9866191
J Abnorm Psychol. 1988 Nov;97(4):487-91
3204235
Psychol Aging. 2008 Mar;23(1):39-51
18361653
Psychophysiology. 2008 Jan;45(1):148-51
17850240
Psychophysiology. 1996 Mar;33(2):103-11
8851238
J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2009 Apr;52(2):336-58
19252129
Emotion. 2001 Sep;1(3):276-98
12934687