The interpretative lenses of older adults are not rose-colored--just less dark: Aging and the interpretation of ambiguous scenarios

Emotion
Joseph A Mikels, Michael M Shuster

Abstract

We are all faced with ambiguous situations daily that we must interpret to make sense of the world. In such situations, do you wear rose-colored glasses and fill in blanks with positives, or do you wear dark glasses and fill in blanks with negatives? In the current study, we presented 32 older and 32 younger adults with a series of ambiguous scenarios and had them continue the stories. Older adults continued the scenarios with less negativity than younger adults, as measured by negative and positive emotion word use and by the coded overall emotional valence of each interpretation. These results illuminate an interpretative approach by older adults that favors less negative endings and that supports broader age-related positivity. In addition, older adults interpreted social scenarios with less emotionality than did younger adults. These findings uncover a new manifestation of age-related positivity in spontaneous speech generated in response to ambiguity, indicating that older adults tend to create emotional meaning differently from the young.

Citations

Feb 23, 2017·Memory & Cognition·Sarah J BarberMara Mather
Apr 25, 2018·The Gerontologist·Crystal N SteltenpohlJoseph A Mikels
Nov 6, 2018·Cognition & Emotion·Laura L Carstensen
Oct 30, 2020·Aging & Mental Health·Rebecca E ReadyIrina Orlovsky
Mar 20, 2021·Developmental Review : DR·Nathaniel A YoungJoseph A Mikels
Mar 30, 2021·Neuropsychology, Development, and Cognition. Section B, Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition·Sarah J BarberMara Mather

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