Predicting real-world behaviour: Cognition-emotion links across adulthood and everyday functioning at work

Abstract

Inspired by the discovery of positive age trends in emotional well-being across adulthood, lifespan researchers have uncovered fascinating age differences in cognition-emotion interactions in healthy adult samples, for example in emotion processing, memory, reactivity, perception, and regulation. Taking stock of this body of research, I identify four trends and five remaining gaps in our understanding of emotional functioning in adulthood. In particular, I suggest that the field should pay stronger attention to the prediction of real-world behaviour. Using the sample case of work functioning, I outline gaps in current knowledge, including the lack of data on middle-aged adults, the neglect of relevant cognitive-emotional mechanisms, and the unclear role of life experience. Filling these gaps will enable progress in research on emotional aging in and beyond the work setting and enhance its practical utility for individuals, organisations, and society.

Empathy at work: The role of age and emotional job demands.

“…These divergent findings demonstrate that age differences in empathy across adulthood are not necessarily linear and thus cannot be inferred from extreme-age group comparisons (Scheibe, 2018). In fact, middle-aged adults are unique in their motivational and capacity profile.…”

Can Creativity and Cognitive Reserve Predict Psychological Well-Being in Older Adults? The Role of Divergent Thinking in Healthy Aging

“…However, aging has also been associated with improved levels of PWB, mainly in the emotional sphere. According to the so-called "well-being paradox of aging", older adults experience high levels of affective well-being [15] and increasing emotional stability [16]. According to the "positivity effect", older adults tend to focus on emotional well-being when the time perspective becomes more limited [16] and tend to be oriented to positive emotional stimuli rather than to negative ones [17,18].…”

Emotionale Kompetenzen und psychische Gesundheit

“…Die Betrachtung von Altersunterschieden ist in emotional-kognitiven Prozessen der Emotionsarbeit relevant, wobei hier noch offene Fragen zum Einfluss und der Wirkung des Alters ausstehen [25]. Für die deskriptive Datenanalyse wurde der Median der relevanten Konstrukte ermittelt (.…”