The roles of chronological age and time perspective in memory positivity.
The observation that older adults show enhanced cognition for emotionally positive information has been labeled the positivity effect (Reed, Chan, & Mikels, 2014). According to the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST, Carstensen, 1991), a prominent lifespan development theory, cognition is strongly influenced by motivational goals, and these goals are impacted by subjective time perspective. Although the positivity effect is most commonly observed in older adults, as age usually co-varies with time perspective, the SST posits that time perspective, not age, is the key explanatory factor of positivity. We examined the effects of these predictors on positivity in an episodic memory task in younger and older adults and found that age, not time perspective, was a key predictor of memory positivity. Our results add to the growing literature that challenge the notion that time perspective is the driving force behind age-related differences in emotional processing and functioning.
['Kan|Irene P|IP|', 'Garrison|Shaina L|SL|', 'Drummey|Anna B|AB|', 'Emmert|Brian E|BE|', 'Rogers|Leeland L|LL|']
D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D000375:Aging D004644:Emotions D006801:Humans D008568:Memory D008875:Middle Aged D008959:Models, Neurological D010465:Perception D013998:Time Perception D014796:Visual Perception D055815:Young Adult
Aging memory emotion positivity effect future time perspective