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Two studies considered age differences in the roles of emotion and meaningfulness in adults' media preferences. Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST) suggests that with increasing age, positive emotions become more meaningful, and emotional meaningfulness matters more for situation selection. Other developmental descriptions suggest that negative affect may be meaningful and interesting in youth. In Study 1, United States 18-86 year olds read descriptions of TV programs that varied in levels of warmth, funniness, sadness, and fright; in Study 2, United States and German 18-82 year olds watched film trailers that varied in levels of gore and meaningfulness. Participants rated their anticipated emotions, anticipated meaningfulness of the content, and their viewing interest. Consistent with SST, in both studies, anticipated meaningfulness was a stronger predictor of viewing interest for older adults relative to younger adults, and the indirect path (Emotion → Meaning → Interest) was stronger for older relative to younger adults. In Study 1, warmth (but not funniness) was more predictive of meaningfulness for older relative to younger adults; sadness and fear were not more predictive of meaningfulness for younger adults. In Study 2, there were age differences in the effects of fright on interest, in part via effects on anticipated fun and suspense (but not arousal). Overall, the results provide limited evidence that positive or negative emotions are more meaningful or interesting at different ages. However, they support the argument that emotional meaningfulness matters more to older than to younger adults. (PsycINFO Database Record

Although preschoolers learn from educational TV, they may not use information appropriately due to their developing understanding of video and fantasy-reality distinctions. Seventy 3- to 5-year-olds watched a Sesame Street clip, introduced as either “fun” or “for learning,” that depicted aspects of Hispanic culture (e.g., fiestas). They answered comprehension questions and rated the reality of the educational and fantasy content. Approximately a week later, a seemingly unrelated interviewer asked for help planning a fiesta (transfer task), then reassessed memory and reality judgments. Regardless of condition, children retained most of what they learned, but all ages became increasingly skeptical about the reality of both the educational and fantasy content. Consistent with theorizing about transfer, children’s use of the educational content depended on both memory and reality judgments. Older children remembered the information better than younger children, but memory only predicted transfer if the information was remembered as real.

Once upon a game: Exploring video game nostalgia and its impact on well-being.

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