Unpleasant situations elicit different emotional responses in younger and older adults

被引:175
作者
Charles, Susan Turk [1 ]
Carstensen, Laura L. [2 ]
机构
[1] Univ Calif Irvine, Dept Psychol & Social Behav, Irvine, CA 92697 USA
[2] Stanford Univ, Dept Psychol, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
关键词
emotion; emotion regulation; age differences; social situations;
D O I
10.1037/a0013284
中图分类号
R4 [临床医学]; R592 [老年病学];
学科分类号
1002 [临床医学]; 100203 [老年医学]; 100602 [中西医结合临床];
摘要
Older adults report less distress in response to interpersonal conflicts than do younger adults, yet few researchers have examined factors that may contribute to these age differences. Emotion regulation is partially determined by the initial cognitive and emotional reactions that events elicit. The authors examined reported thoughts and emotions of younger and older adults (N = 195) while they listened to 3 different audiotaped conversations in which people were ostensibly making disparaging remarks about them. At 4 points during each scenario, the tape paused and participants engaged in a talk-aloud procedure and rated their level of anger and sadness. Findings reveal that older adults reported less anger but equal levels of sadness compared to younger adults, and their comments were judged by coders as less negative. Older adults made fewer appraisals about the people speaking on the tape and expressed less interest in learning more about their motives. Together, findings are consistent with age-related increases in processes that promote disengagement from offending situations.
引用
收藏
页码:495 / 504
页数:10
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