Aging and altruism: A meta-analysis.
Life span theories postulate that altruistic tendencies increase in adult development, but the mechanisms and moderators of age-related differences in altruism are poorly understood. In particular, it is unclear to what extent age differences in altruism reflect age differences in altruistic motivation, in resources such as education and income, or in socially desirable responding. This meta-analysis combined 16 studies assessing altruism in younger and older adults (N = 1,581). As expected, results revealed an age-related difference in altruism (Mg = 0.61, p (Source: Psychology and Aging)
Source: Psychology and Aging - March 11, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Empathy at work: The role of age and emotional job demands.
Empathy—which typically instigates prosocial behavior—comprises both cognitive and affective facets. Research suggests that the cognitive facet of empathy (empathic accuracy) declines with age, whereas the affective facets of empathy (emotional congruence and sympathy) remain stable or increase with age. Going beyond main effects of age, we tested whether working in occupations with varying emotional job demands (EJDs) moderates the effects of age on empathy. We predicted that emotionally demanding occupations provide opportunities to practice empathy and, as a result, may lessen the negative relationship between age a...
Source: Psychology and Aging - March 11, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Prosociality across adulthood: A developmental and motivational perspective.
Why do people contribute to the well-being of others? What promotes or hinders their contribution? Framed by expectancy-value theory and the motivational theory of life span development, we use data from the Midlife in the United States National longitudinal study (MIDUS I, II, and III) to examine how individuals’ perceived contributions to the well-being of others develop across adulthood, in the related but distinct forms of overall prosociality (more other-focused) and generativity (more self-focused). Our findings show that prosociality and generativity display similar, yet distinct trajectories, peaking in midlife a...
Source: Psychology and Aging - March 11, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Age and intranasal oxytocin effects on trust-related decisions after breach of trust: Behavioral and brain evidence.
This study examined age-group differences in brain activity and behavior during a trust game. In this game, participants received “breach-of-trust” feedback after half of the trials. The feedback indicated that only 50% of the monetary investment into their fellow players had resulted in returns. The study also explored the effects of intranasal oxytocin on trust-related decisions in aging, based on suggestions of a modulatory role of oxytocin in response to negative social stimuli and perceptions of trust. Forty-seven younger and 46 older participants self-administered intranasal oxytocin or placebo, in a randomized, ...
Source: Psychology and Aging - March 11, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Introduction to the special issue on prosociality in adult development and aging: Advancing theory within a multilevel framework.
Prosociality refers to a broad set of behavioral, motivational, cognitive, affective, and social processes that contribute to, and/or are focused on, the welfare of others. This overview summarizes 10 articles included in the special issue on this topic. In discussing this research relative to existing theories, we situate this work within Penner et al.’s (Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 2005, 365–392) multilevel framework that recognizes distinct yet integrated levels of analysis to characterize micro- (i.e., intraindividual), meso- (i.e., interpersonal), and macro- (i.e., sociocultural and organizational contexts) l...
Source: Psychology and Aging - March 11, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
The association between anxiety disorders and hippocampal volume in older adults.
We examined the association between hippocampal volume and anxiety disorders (social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder) in 534 older adults participating in the Enquête de Santé Psychologique–Risques, Incidence et Traitement (ESPRIT) study of late-life neuropsychiatric disorders. Anxiety disorders were diagnosed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview MINI, French version 5.00. Cross-sectional analyses adjusted for age, educational level, gender, Mini-Mental State Examination scores, National Adult...
Source: Psychology and Aging - March 4, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Schema-driven memory benefits boost transitive inference in older adults.
Age-related cognitive deficits may be diminished by tapping into prior knowledge structures. We investigated age-related differences in the formation and updating of schemas and examined whether the memory benefits of recently acquired schemas would be preserved in older adults. Data were collected from 60 older adults (M = 66.2, SD = 9.3 years) and 59 adolescents recruited from Singapore’s top schools (M = 16.6, SD = 0.9 years) who learnt the age hierarchy of six galaxies to criterion by viewing neighboring pairs one at a time, for example A–B, D–E, C–D, enabling the formation of a schema via transitive inference ...
Source: Psychology and Aging - March 1, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
State mindfulness and affective well-being in the daily lives of middle-aged and older adults.
Contemporary conceptualizations of mindfulness refer to paying attention to the present moment with an open and nonjudgmental attitude. Empirical research is increasingly focusing on mindfulness as a dynamic and multifaceted state that can fluctuate across situations and time. The present study aimed to extend existing knowledge by using experience-sampling methodology to examine state-level mindfulness, pleasant/unpleasant event occurrence, and affective well-being in the everyday lives of middle-aged and older adults. A community-based sample of 157 participants aged 53–86 (M = 69.36, SD = 5.80) was recruited in May–...
Source: Psychology and Aging - February 25, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Acting with the future in mind: Testing competing prospective memory interventions.
Prospective memory (PM) is a critical determinant of whether a person is able to lead an independent life. Because PM declines in late adulthood, an important question is therefore whether, and if so, which types, of PM interventions might lead to meaningful benefits. In the present study, we randomly assigned older adults to one of four conditions, in three of which participants received a structured PM intervention (Restorative, Compensatory, and Combined Restorative and Compensatory); the fourth was an Active Control condition. The results showed that there were significant gains on the PM training task used for both th...
Source: Psychology and Aging - February 4, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Age-related change in self-perceptions of aging: Longitudinal trajectories and predictors of change.
This study is the first one to describe age-related change trajectories in multiple dimensions of SPA and significant predictors of these change trajectories. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Psychology and Aging)
Source: Psychology and Aging - February 4, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Young and restless, old and focused: Age-differences in mind-wandering frequency and phenomenology.
This study examined the impact of aging on the frequency and phenomenology of mind-wandering and investigated distinct variables mediating age-related differences in unintentional and intentional mind-wandering. Thirty-four younger and 34 healthy older adults completed a neuropsychological test battery and contrast change detection task embedded with experience sampling probes asking participants to discriminate the nature of their thoughts. Results revealed age-related decreases in unintentional and intentional mind-wandering, but equivalent task accuracy. Parallel mediations demonstrated that older adults reduced their u...
Source: Psychology and Aging - February 4, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Effects of acute stress on cognition in older versus younger adults.
We examined cognition following an acute stressor among older (n = 65; ages 60–79) and younger (n = 61; ages 25–40) adults. Participants were randomized to complete the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in one of three conditions: (a) negative feedback, (b) positive feedback, or (c) no feedback. Participants reported mood states and appraisals of the speech task and we measured cortisol via saliva throughout the study. After the TSST, participants completed standard cognitive tasks to evaluate cognitive flexibility, problem solving, and short-term memory. Results showed that after the TSST, older adults took longer to so...
Source: Psychology and Aging - February 4, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Age differences in strategic reminder setting and the compensatory role of metacognition.
Previous research has shown that older adults can have difficulty remembering to fulfill delayed intentions. In the present study, we explored whether age differences in prospective memory are affected when participants are permitted to set reminders to help them remember. Furthermore, we examined whether metacognition can influence the use of such strategies and help older adults compensate for age-related memory decline. In this pre-registered study (N = 88) we administered a computerized task requiring a sample of older (aged 65–84) and younger (aged 18–30) participants to remember delayed intentions for a brief per...
Source: Psychology and Aging - February 4, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Changes in married older adults’ self-perceptions of aging: The role of gender.
To what extent self-perceptions of aging and their correlates in later life may be gendered remains relatively unexplored. In particular, little is known about how changes in the health and spousal relationship quality over time contribute to self-perceptions of aging among married men and women. To clarify these links, we analyzed panel data from the Health and Retirement Study (2008–2016) on married individuals aged 65 years and older (N = 2,623) using within-between random effects models. Findings showed no gender difference in self-perceptions of aging at baseline and in the rate of change, and poorer health and spou...
Source: Psychology and Aging - January 14, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Recalling youth: Control over reminiscence bump events predicts life satisfaction in midlife.
The reminiscence bump phenomenon is well established: adults in the second half of life remember more events from their youth than from other periods. Almost no research has focused, however, on the adaptive value of the reminiscence bump for adult well-being. Grounded in a life story approach, this research examined whether perceiving that one had control over events from the bump period (compared with other past periods and also one’s present life) was related to current life satisfaction. We also investigated whether chronological age moderated these associations. Participants (N = 470; 49–90 years; 59% women) were ...
Source: Psychology and Aging - January 14, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
