title: Attention to negative emotion is related to longitudinal social network change: The moderating effect of interdependent self-construal.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many previous studies have investigated older adults' attentional preference toward different emotions. Interdependent self-construal is identified to be an important moderator of this phenomenon. However, despite the important social functions of emotions, the social consequence of older adults' emotional preferences in attention have not yet been examined. The current study tested how older adults' attentional preferences assessed in the laboratory influenced changes in their real-life social network, and how interdependent self-construal moderated this effect.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 45 older adults aged 60-84 years participated in an eye-tracking session that measured their attentional preference to emotional faces versus neutral faces. After that, participants completed the Self-Construal Scale. Participants' social network was then assessed by the Social Convoy Questionnaire twice over a 2-year period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Interdependent self-construal significantly moderated the effect of attention to angry and sad faces on older adults' real-life social network changes. For older adults with a higher level of interdependent self-construal, more attention toward negative emotions was related to longitudinal decreases in the number of their emotionally close social partners.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study shows the important role of attentional preferences in older adults' social network maintenance. It identified a real-life macro level social outcome of a micro level laboratory phenomenon, which can be an important direction for future research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Studies and Center for Psychosocial Health and Aging, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Tianyuan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Helene H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Derek M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Isaacowitz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychogerontology, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Frieder R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Lang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012944:Social Support
keywords: attention; interdependent self-construal; negative emotion; older adults; social network