Positivity in Younger and in Older Age: Associations With Future Time Perspective and Socioemotional Functioning

Abstract

Aging has been associated with a motivational shift to positive over negative information (i.e., positivity effect), which is often explained by a limited future time perspective (FTP) within the framework of socioemotional selectivity theory (SST). However, whether a limited FTP functions similarly in younger and older adults, and whether inter-individual differences in socioemotional functioning are similarly associated with preference for positive information (i.e., positivity) is still not clear. We investigated younger (20–35 years, N = 73) and older (60–75 years, N = 56) adults’ gaze preferences on pairs of happy, angry, sad, and neutral faces using an eye-tracking system. We additionally assessed several parameters potentially underlying inter-individual differences in emotion processing such as FTP, stress, cognitive functioning, social support, emotion regulation, and well-being. While we found no age-related differences in positivity when the entire trial duration was considered, older adults showed longer fixations on the more positive face in later stages of processing (i.e., positivity shifts ). This allocation of resources toward more positive stimuli might serve an emotion regulatory purpose and seems consistent with the SST. However, our findings suggest that age moderates the relationship between FTP and positivity shifts, such that the relationship between FTP and positivity preferences was negative in older, and positive in younger adults, potentially stemming from an age-related differential meaning of the FTP construct across age. Furthermore, our exploratory analyses showed that along with the age and FTP interaction, lower levels of worry also played a significant role in positivity shifts. We conclude that positivity effects cannot be solely explained by aging, or the associated reduced FTP per se , but is rather determined by a complex interplay of psychosocial and emotional features.

The Role of Positive and Negative Information Processing in COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in Women of Generation X, Y, and Z: The Power of Good is Stronger Than Bad in Youngsters?

“…Even if the risk is perceived and helps in health behavior adjustment (Marschalko et al, 2021), most of the time, the cognition and health behavior in older adults are influenced by positivity (Weinstein, 1980;Isaacowitz and Blanchard-Fields, 2012;Chowdhury et al, 2013;Reed et al, 2014). The present studies' positivity findings can also point toward the presence of better emotional regulation skills, which favors optimism (Brassen et al, 2011;Erbey et al, 2020). The presence of chronic disease can be interpreted in this case also in the context of personal remaining time or limited future time, which posits a higher emphasis on positive assessment and on emotionally and socially relevant and positive aspects (Carstensen, 2006) in which a COVID-19 vaccine potentially can bring benefits.…”

“…The relationship between limited time perspective and positivity was found in former studies (Henry et al, 2017). Erbey et al (2020) highlighted the role of a complex interplay of psychosocial and emotional features in positivity effects in information interpretation, evidencing limited future time perspective with a significant role even in young participants. In this context, we can argue that if specific health-related situation puts at risk the individually motivating environments, and if the young adult faces situations in which he/she perceives his or her future time (life) as being limited, positive bias is likely to appear, in concordance with the social-emotionality theory, which was formerly highlighted in case of the life-span theory (Carstensen and Mikels, 2005;Carstensen, 2006).…”

“…The extensive positivity can be justified in the context of agerelated brain development aspects, which favor optimism (Sharot et al, 2012a,b). This finding on the exclusive role of positive information in Gen Z's COVID-19 vaccine uptake needs further research because it could hold information on specific health-related circumstances in which evolutionary gains are reinterpreted by young individuals, and negative information interpretation could be reframed from "bad is stronger than good" (Baumeister et al, 2001) in the context of perceived limited future time and individual approaches (Henry et al, 2017;Erbey et al, 2020) into "good is much better than bad, if my time is limited." The possible moderation effect of extreme lockdown could be in focus in this specific case and further studies are needed for the clarification of this new insight.…”

Limited time horizons lead to the positivity effect in attention, but not to more positive emotions: An investigation of the socioemotional selectivity theory.

“…These observations suggest instead that the nature of the positivity effect may depend on an interaction between FTP and actual age, and be less characterized by avoidance of negative information in younger than in older adults. In line with this idea, there is already some evidence for the moderating role of age in the relationship between FTP and positive gaze preferences, suggesting that limited-time horizons (as measured by the FTPS) may have a different meaning for young and older adults (Erbey et al, 2020). More research is needed to investigate these aspects.…”

“…This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. between FTP and positive gaze preferences, suggesting that limitedtime horizons (as measured by the FTPS) may have a different meaning for young and older adults (Erbey et al, 2020). More research is needed to investigate these aspects.…”