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Sun B, Luo Z, Zhu X, Shao Y, Zhang W, Qin G, Lin S, Wan S. Lack of Interaction Motivation in Older Adults Automatically Reduces Cognitive Empathy. Exp Aging Res 2024; 50:225-247. [PMID: 38192191 DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2023.2168990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
Empathy, the ability to understand and respond to the experiences of others, is an important skill for maintaining good relationships throughout one's life. Previous research indicated that emotional empathy remained stable or even increased in older adults compared to younger adults, while cognitive empathy showed age-related deficits. Based on the selective engagement hypothesis, this deficit was not caused by a decline in cognitive functioning, but by a lack of willingness to judge the target person's emotions more precisely, that is, by a lack of interaction motivation. In order to provide more evidence on the causes of empathic aging in older adults, the current study investigated the influence of interaction motivation on empathy in older adults in an Eastern cultural context (China) based on the selective engagement hypothesis. This study used older adults and younger adults as subjects. Through two experiments, empathy was measured by the multiple empathy test (Experiment 1) and film tasks (Experiment 2); at the same time, use accountability instructions (Experiment 1), the age-related events (Experiment 2) to manipulate interaction motivation. The results showed that emotional empathy was significantly higher in older adults than in younger adults, regardless of whether interaction motivation was elicited. In terms of cognitive empathy, when there is no motivation, the cognitive empathy of older adults is significantly lower than that of younger adults. When the interaction motivation is stimulated, the cognitive empathy of older adults is no less than that of younger adults. This suggested that empathic aging in older adults was not a permanent decline in cognitive empathy, but rather a decline in interaction motivation, supporting the selective engagement hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Binghai Sun
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- Research Center of Tin Ka Ping Moral Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhenbing Luo
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zhu
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Yuting Shao
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- Research Center of Tin Ka Ping Moral Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wenhai Zhang
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- Research Center of Tin Ka Ping Moral Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
| | - Guihua Qin
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- Research Center of Tin Ka Ping Moral Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
| | - Shuwei Lin
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Simin Wan
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
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Stutesman MG, Frye DA. Affective Theory of Mind in Late Adulthood: The Role of Emotion Complexity and Social Relatedness. Exp Aging Res 2023; 49:472-500. [PMID: 36284488 DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2022.2137359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Age-related declines in adult affective theory of mind (AToM) have been discovered. However, AToM measures have not accounted for emotional state complexity involved in AToM. Measures have also not accounted for different types of relationships - friends versus strangers - for which AToM is employed, which is important considering the limited social networks of aging adults. OBJECTIVE We address these issues and examine the emotion complexity, social-relatedness, and contextual relevance in AToM across adult ages (18-89 years) using a new task and two well-established measures. RESULTS The new task displayed good structural fit and internal construct validity. Overall, an age-related decline in AToM was found along with an interaction between age and emotion complexity. For all ages, AToM performance was best for complex emotions. However, as age increased, there was more rapid decline in AToM for more complex emotions than for less complex ones. Surprisingly, AToM performance for strangers was better than for social companions. CONCLUSION The findings suggest age-related AToM declines are more nuanced than previously understood given that adult age differences are related to emotional state complexity. They indicate that the emotion complexity levels of basic, complex, and self-conscious should be included in AToM assessments. Implications for AToM tasks and development are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan G Stutesman
- Department of Psychology, 3F5, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, USA
| | - Douglas A Frye
- Department of Psychology, 3F5, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, USA
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Henry JD, Grainger SA, von Hippel W. Determinants of Social Cognitive Aging: Predicting Resilience and Risk. Annu Rev Psychol 2023; 74:167-192. [PMID: 35973407 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-033020-121832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
This review focuses on conceptual and empirical research on determinants of social cognitive aging. We present an integrated model [the social cognitive resource (SCoRe) framework] to organize the literature and describe how social cognitive resilience is determined jointly by capacity and motivational resources. We discuss how neurobiological aging, driven by genetic and environmental influences, is associated with broader sensory, neural, and physiological changes that are direct determinants of capacity as well as indirect determinants of motivation via their influence on expectation of loss versus reward and cognitive effort valuation. Research is reviewed that shows how contextual factors, such as relationship status, familiarity, and practice, are fundamental to understanding the availability of both types of resource. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of social cognitive change in late adulthood for everyday social functioning and with recommendations for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie D Henry
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia; , ,
| | - Sarah A Grainger
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia; , ,
| | - William von Hippel
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia; , ,
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Grainger SA, Crawford JD, Riches JC, Kochan NA, Chander RJ, Mather KA, Sachdev PS, Henry JD. Aging Is Associated With Multidirectional Changes in Social Cognition: Findings From an Adult Life-Span Sample Ranging From 18 to 101 Years. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2022; 78:62-72. [PMID: 35985278 PMCID: PMC9890910 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbac110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Normal adult aging is associated with changes in social cognition. Although 4 social cognitive domains have been identified (social perception, theory of mind [ToM], affective empathy, and social behavior), no study has tested all 4 domains concurrently in a life-span sample, limiting understanding of the relative magnitude of age-related changes across domains. This study addresses this gap by providing the first assessment of all 4 social cognitive domains in an adult life-span sample. METHODS Three hundred and seventy-two participants ranging from 18 to 101 years of age took part in this study. Participants completed a testing battery that assessed social perception, ToM, affective empathy, and social behavior, as well as broader cognitive function and well-being. RESULTS The results showed that adult aging is associated with multidirectional changes in social cognitive abilities, with ToM and social perception showing nonlinear decline across much of the life-span, and affective empathy and social behavior showing improvement. Age remained a significant predictor of all 4 social cognitive domains, even after accounting for broader cognitive function. Weak associations emerged between some of the social cognitive abilities and and indices of broader well-being. DISCUSSION These findings provide novel and important evidence that normative aging is associated with both gains and losses in social cognition that occur at distinct points of the adult life-span, and that are at least partially independent of general age-related cognitive decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Grainger
- Address correspondence to: Sarah A. Grainger, PhD, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. E-mail:
| | - John D Crawford
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Nicole A Kochan
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Russell J Chander
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Karen A Mather
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), Sydney, Australia
| | - Perminder S Sachdev
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,Neuropsychiatric Institute, Princes of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia
| | - Julie D Henry
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia
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Hamilton LJ, Gourley AN, Krendl AC. They Cannot, They Will Not, or We Are Asking the Wrong Questions: Re-examining Age-Related Decline in Social Cognition. Front Psychol 2022; 13:894522. [PMID: 35645861 PMCID: PMC9131941 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.894522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social cognition is critical for successfully navigating social relationships. Current evidence suggests that older adults exhibit poorer performance in several core social-cognitive domains compared to younger adults. Neurocognitive decline is commonly discussed as one of the key arbiters of age-related decline in social-cognitive abilities. While evidence supports this notion, age effects are likely attributable to multiple factors. This paper aims to recontextualize past evidence by focusing issues of motivation, task design, and representative samples. In light of these issues, we identify directions for future research to aide our understanding of social-cognitive aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas J. Hamilton
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States
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Hoemann K, Vicaria IM, Gendron M, Stanley JT. Introducing a Face Sort Paradigm to Evaluate Age Differences in Emotion Perception. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2021; 76:1272-1281. [PMID: 32211791 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Previous research has uncovered age-related differences in emotion perception. To date, studies have relied heavily on forced-choice methods that stipulate possible responses. These constrained methods limit discovery of variation in emotion perception, which may be due to subtle differences in underlying concepts for emotion. METHOD We employed a face sort paradigm in which young (N = 42) and older adult (N = 43) participants were given 120 photographs portraying six target emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and neutral) and were instructed to create and label piles, such that individuals in each pile were feeling the same way. RESULTS There were no age differences in number of piles created, nor in how well labels mapped onto the target emotion categories. However, older adults demonstrated lower consistency in sorting, such that fewer photographs in a given pile belonged to the same target emotion category. At the same time, older adults labeled piles using emotion words that were acquired later in development, and thus are considered more semantically complex. DISCUSSION These findings partially support the hypothesis that older adults' concepts for emotions and emotional expressions are more complex than those of young adults, demonstrate the utility of incorporating less constrained experimental methods into the investigation of age-related differences in emotion perception, and are consistent with existing evidence of increased cognitive and emotional complexity in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie Hoemann
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Ishabel M Vicaria
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Maria Gendron
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
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Villalba AA, Stanley JT, Turner JR, Vale MT, Houston ML. Age Differences in Preferences for Fear-Enhancing Vs. Fear-Reducing News in a Disease Outbreak. Front Psychol 2021; 11:589390. [PMID: 33424705 PMCID: PMC7785806 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.589390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Older adults (OA) prefer positive over negative information in a lab setting, compared to young adults (YA; i.e., positivity effects). The extent to which OA avoid negative events or information relevant for their health and safety is not clear. We first investigated age differences in preferences for fear-enhancing vs. fear-reducing news articles during the Ebola Outbreak of 2014. We were able to collect data from 15 YA and 13 OA during this acute health event. Compared to YA, OA were more likely to read the fear-enhancing article, select hand-sanitizer over lip balm, and reported greater fear of Ebola. We further investigated our research question during the COVID-19 pandemic with 164 YA (18-30 years) and 171 OA (60-80 years). Participants responded to an online survey about the COVID-19 pandemic across 13 days during the initial peak of the pandemic in the United States (U.S.). Both YA and OA preferred to read positive over negative news about the coronavirus, but OA were even more likely than YA to prefer the positive news article. No age differences in the fear of contraction were found, but OA engaged in more health-protective behaviors compared to YA. Although OA may not always report greater fear than YA or seek out negative information related to a health concern, they still engage in protective health behaviors. Thus, although positivity effects were observed in attention and emotional reports (in the COVID-19 study), OA still modified their behaviors more than YA (giveaway in both studies, and health-protective behavior change in the COVID-19 study), suggesting that positivity effects did not hamper OA ability to respond to a health crisis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jennifer R Turner
- Department of Psychology, University of Akron, Akron, OH, United States
| | - Michael T Vale
- Department of Psychology, University of Akron, Akron, OH, United States
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Ruffman T, Halberstadt J, Murray J, Jack F, Vater T. Empathic Accuracy: Worse Recognition by Older Adults and Less Transparency in Older Adult Expressions Compared With Young Adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2020; 75:1658-1667. [PMID: 30698814 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbz008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We examined empathic accuracy, comparing young versus older perceivers, and young versus older emoters. Empathic accuracy is related to but distinct from emotion recognition because perceiver judgments of emotion are based, not on what an emoter looks to be feeling, but on what an emoter says s/he is actually feeling. METHOD Young (≤30 years) and older (≥60 years) adults ("emoters") were unobtrusively videotaped while watching movie clips designed to elicit specific emotional states. The emoter videos were then presented to young and older "perceivers," who were instructed to infer what the emoters were feeling. RESULTS As predicted, older perceivers' empathic accuracy was less accurate relative to young perceivers. In addition, the emotions of young emoters were considerably easier to read than those of older emoters. There was also some evidence of an own-age advantage in emotion recognition in that older adults had particular difficulty assessing emotion in young faces. DISCUSSION These findings have important implications for real-world social adjustment, with older adults experiencing a combination of less emotional transparency and worse understanding of emotional experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ted Ruffman
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | | | - Janice Murray
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Fiona Jack
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Tina Vater
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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9
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Castro VL, Isaacowitz DM. Aging and the Social Ecology of Everyday Interpersonal Perception: What is Perceived, in Whom, and Where? J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2019; 74:988-998. [PMID: 29329441 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbx159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Despite a proliferation of research in interpersonal perception and aging, no research has identified the nature of the social and emotional perceptions made by aging individuals in everyday life. In this study, we aimed to identify the social ecological features that characterize everyday interpersonal perception across the adult lifespan. METHOD Three studies were conducted. Study 1 identified and compared the targets and locations of young, middle-age, and older adults' everyday interpersonal perceptions; these perceptions were categorized into types in Study 2. Study 3 applied these categorizations to identify and compare the social ecology surrounding aging individuals' interpersonal perceptions. RESULTS Everyday interpersonal perceptions were directed toward familiar others and occurred in familiar locations, although the specific familiar targets and locations sometimes varied significantly with age. However, the types of perceptions made in everyday life did not vary significantly between age groups. DISCUSSION Aging individuals make similar types of interpersonal judgments, but the targets and locations of these judgments may change with age. Future studies on interpersonal perception and aging will need to account for these features of the aging individual's social ecology to provide an accurate assessment of the aging process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa L Castro
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Derek M Isaacowitz
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
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10
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Ceccato I, Lecce S, Cavallini E, van Vugt FT, Ruffman T. Motivation and social-cognitive abilities in older adults: Convergent evidence from self-report measures and cardiovascular reactivity. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0218785. [PMID: 31291276 PMCID: PMC6619662 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2018] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, some authors have suggested that age-related impairments in social-cognitive abilities-emotion recognition (ER) and theory of mind (ToM)-may be explained in terms of reduced motivation and effort mobilization in older adults. We examined performance on ER and ToM tasks, as well as corresponding control tasks, experimentally manipulating self-involvement. Sixty-one older adults and 57 young adults were randomly assigned to either a High or Low self-involvement condition. In the first condition, self-involvement was raised by telling participants were told that good task performance was associated with a number of positive, personally relevant social outcomes. Motivation was measured with both subjective (self-report questionnaire) and objective (systolic blood pressure reactivity-SBP-R) indices. Results showed that the self-involvement manipulation did not increase self-reported motivation, SBP-R, or task performance. Further correlation analyses focusing on individual differences in motivation did not reveal any association with performance, in either young or older adults. Notably, we found age-related decline in both ER and ToM, despite older adults having higher motivation than young adults. Overall, the present results were not consistent with previous claims that motivation affects older adults' social-cognitive performance, opening the route to potential alternative explanations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Ceccato
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Serena Lecce
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Elena Cavallini
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Floris T. van Vugt
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada, Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Ted Ruffman
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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Blanke ES, Riediger M. Reading thoughts and feelings in other people: Empathic accuracy across adulthood. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2019; 247:305-327. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Gurera JW, Isaacowitz DM. Emotion regulation and emotion perception in aging: A perspective on age-related differences and similarities. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2019; 247:329-351. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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13
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Castro VL, Isaacowitz DM. The same with age: Evidence for age-related similarities in interpersonal accuracy. J Exp Psychol Gen 2018; 148:1517-1537. [PMID: 30550339 DOI: 10.1037/xge0000540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Interpersonal accuracy refers to the ability to make accurate perceptions about others' social and emotional qualities. Despite this broad definition, the measurement of interpersonal accuracy remains narrow, as most studies focus on the accurate perception of others' emotional states. Moreover, previous research has relied primarily upon traditional tasks consisting of posed, prototypic expressions and behaviors as stimuli. These methodological limitations may constrain our understanding of how different interpersonal perception skills change in adulthood. The present study investigated the extent to which various interpersonal perception skills are worse, better, or remain the same with age using both traditional and nontraditional interpersonal accuracy tasks. One hundred fifty-one adults from 3 age groups (young, middle age, and older) completed a battery of interpersonal accuracy tasks that assessed eight different emotion perception skills and six different social perception skills. Analyses revealed age-related differences in accuracy for five interpersonal perception skills; differences were typically observed between younger and older adults on emotion perception accuracy and between younger and middle-age adults on social perception accuracy. In contrast, almost all remaining interpersonal perception skills-both emotional and social-revealed greater evidence for age-related similarities than differences in Bayesian analyses. Additional exploratory analyses indicated that the observed age differences in interpersonal accuracy may be attributable to individual differences in cognitive ability rather than age. Results provide a nuanced picture of how interpersonal perception skills change in adulthood and provide new methodological tools for a more complete and comprehensive assessment of interpersonal accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Zhang X, Lecce S, Ceccato I, Cavallini E, Zhang L, Chen T. Plasticity in older adults' theory of mind performance: the impact of motivation. Aging Ment Health 2018; 22:1592-1599. [PMID: 28885057 DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2017.1376313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Recently, motivation has been found to attenuate the age-related decline in Theory of Mind (ToM) performance (i.e. faux pas recognition). However, whether or not this effect could be generalized to other ToM tasks is still unknown. In the present study, we investigated whether and how motivation could enhance older adults' performance and reduce age differences in ToM tasks (Faux Pas vs. Animation task) that differ in familiarity. METHOD Following a previous paradigm, 171 Chinese adults (87 younger adults and 84 older adults) were recruited, and we experimentally manipulated the level of perceived closeness between participants and the experimenter before administering the ToM tasks in order to enhance participants' motivation. RESULTS Results showed that, for the Faux Pas task, we replicated previous findings such that older adults under the enhanced motivation conditions performed equally well as younger adults. Conversely, for the Animation task, younger adults outperformed older adults, regardless of motivation. DISCUSSION These results indicate that motivation can enhance older adults' performance in ToM tasks, however, this beneficial effect cannot be generalized across ToM tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zhang
- a School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health , Peking University , Beijing , China
| | - Serena Lecce
- b Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences , University of Pavia , Pavia , Italy
| | - Irene Ceccato
- b Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences , University of Pavia , Pavia , Italy
| | - Elena Cavallini
- b Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences , University of Pavia , Pavia , Italy
| | - Linfang Zhang
- a School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health , Peking University , Beijing , China
| | - Tianyong Chen
- c Key Laboratory of Mental Health , Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China
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15
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Grainger SA, Steinvik HR, Henry JD, Phillips LH. The role of social attention in older adults’ ability to interpret naturalistic social scenes. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2018; 72:1328-1343. [DOI: 10.1177/1747021818791774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Age-related differences on theory of mind (ToM) tasks are well established. However, the literature has been criticised for predominantly relying on tasks with poor ecological validity, and consequently it remains unclear whether these age differences extend to tasks with greater realism. In addition, we currently have a limited understanding of the factors that may contribute to age-related declines in ToM. To address these issues, we conducted two studies that assessed age differences in ToM using multimodal social scene stimuli. Study 1 also examined eye movements to assess whether biases in visual attention may be related to age-related difficulties in ToM, and Study 2 included an assessment of social attention (as indexed by biological motion perception) and working memory to assess whether these capacities may explain age difficulties in ToM. In both studies, the results showed that older adults performed worse than their younger counterparts on the ToM tasks, indicating that age-related difficulties in ToM extend to measures that more closely represent everyday social interactions. The eye-tracking data in Study 1 showed that older adults gazed less at the faces of protagonists in the social scenes compared with younger adults; however, these visual biases were not associated with ToM ability. Study 2 showed that older age was associated with a reduced ability to detect biological motion cues, and this mediated age-related variance in ToM ability. These findings are discussed in relation to competing theoretical frameworks of ageing that predict either improvements or declines in ToM with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Grainger
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | | | - Julie D Henry
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
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Luchesi BM, Chagas MHN, Brigola AG, Ottaviani AC, Souza ÉN, Rossetti ES, Terassi M, Oliveira NAD, Pavarini SCI. Living with the elderly is related to a better performance in the recognition of facial expressions of emotion among older individuals. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.1590/0101-60830000000164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bruna Moretti Luchesi
- Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil; Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
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Kunzmann U, Wieck C, Dietzel C. Empathic accuracy: age differences from adolescence into middle adulthood. Cogn Emot 2018; 32:1611-1624. [PMID: 29388472 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2018.1433128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated age differences in empathic accuracy, the ability to correctly perceive others' emotions, in a sample of 151 boys and men from three age groups: adolescents (Mage = 16 years, SD = 1.04), young adults (Mage = 29 years, SD = 2.78), and middle-aged adults (Mage = 50 years, SD = 3.07). All participants viewed nine newly developed film clips, each depicting a boy or a man reliving one of three emotions (anger, sadness, or happiness), while talking about an autobiographical memory. Adolescents and middle-aged men were less accurate than young men, and these age differences were associated with parallel age differences in fluid-mechanical abilities. In addition, age differences in vocabulary, one indicator of crystallized-pragmatic intelligence, were associated with age differences in empathic accuracy in adolescent and young, but not middle-aged, men. Within the limitations of cross-sectional data, this study provides evidence for the idea that empathic accuracy is an effortful task that requires cognitive resources and, thus, may show a normative increase until young adulthood followed by periods of stability and decline in subsequent decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ute Kunzmann
- a Institute of Psychology , University of Leipzig , Leipzig , Germany
| | - Cornelia Wieck
- a Institute of Psychology , University of Leipzig , Leipzig , Germany
| | - Cathrin Dietzel
- a Institute of Psychology , University of Leipzig , Leipzig , Germany
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Wilson SJ, Andridge R, Peng J, Bailey BE, Malarkey WB, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. Thoughts after marital conflict and punch biopsy wounds: Age-graded pathways to healing. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2017; 85:6-13. [PMID: 28783508 PMCID: PMC6555483 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.07.489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2017] [Revised: 06/05/2017] [Accepted: 07/24/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Thoughts and emotions following marital conflict have received little attention but almost certainly contribute to marriage's long-term health effects. Consistent with emotion theories of aging, we expected the effects of post-conflict thoughts on important neuroendocrine and immune outcomes, cortisol levels and full-thickness wound healing, to differ by age. An age-diverse sample of married couples received a punch biopsy wound and discussed a marital problem, then privately recorded their thoughts and rated their mood. Salivary cortisol was sampled throughout the day, and wound healing was measured for 32days. Older adults reported more positive mood post-conflict than younger adults. Thoughts with more positive emotional content related to lower subsequent cortisol levels. Only older adults who expressed more positive thoughts after conflict experienced faster wound healing, not younger adults. These findings point to the increased physiological importance of regulatory post-stressor processes in older age, and broaden our understanding of social-emotional age differences in close relationships. These data also stimulate questions of whether marriage has more widespread health consequences for older partners, undetected in studies of short-term outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie J Wilson
- Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, United States.
| | - Rebecca Andridge
- College of Public Health, Division of Biostatistics, The Ohio State University, United States
| | - Juan Peng
- Center for Biostatistics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, United States
| | - Brittney E Bailey
- College of Public Health, Division of Biostatistics, The Ohio State University, United States
| | - William B Malarkey
- Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, United States; Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, United States
| | - Janice K Kiecolt-Glaser
- Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, United States
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19
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Sen A, Isaacowitz D, Schirmer A. Age differences in vocal emotion perception: on the role of speaker age and listener sex. Cogn Emot 2017; 32:1189-1204. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2017.1393399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antarika Sen
- Neurobiology and Aging Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | | | - Annett Schirmer
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- The Mind and Brain Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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20
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Kunzmann U, Isaacowitz D. Emotional Aging: Taking the Immediate Context Seriously. RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/15427609.2017.1340048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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21
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Faber A, Walter F. The Curvilinear Relationship between Age and Emotional Aperture: The Moderating Role of Agreeableness. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1200. [PMID: 28769843 PMCID: PMC5513926 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Accepted: 06/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The capability to correctly recognize collective emotion expressions [i.e., emotional aperture (EA)] is crucial for effective social and work-related interactions. Yet, little remains known about the antecedents of this ability. The present study therefore aims to shed new light onto key aspects that may promote or diminish an individual’s EA. We examine the role of age for this ability in an online sample of 181 participants (with an age range of 18–72 years, located in Germany), and we investigate agreeableness as a key contingency factor. Among individuals with lower agreeableness, on the one hand, our results indicate a curvilinear relationship between age and EA, such that EA remains at a relatively high level until these individuals’ middle adulthood (with a slight increase until their late 30s) and declines afterward. Individuals with higher agreeableness, on the other hand, exhibit relatively high EA irrespective of their age. Together, these findings offer new insights for the emerging literature on EA, illustrating that specific demographic and personality characteristics may jointly shape such collective emotion recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Faber
- Department of Organization and Human Resource Management, Justus Liebig University GiessenGiessen, Germany
| | - Frank Walter
- Department of Organization and Human Resource Management, Justus Liebig University GiessenGiessen, Germany
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22
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Isaacowitz DM, Livingstone KM, Castro VL. Aging and emotions: experience, regulation, and perception. Curr Opin Psychol 2017; 17:79-83. [PMID: 28950978 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2016] [Accepted: 06/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Whereas some theories suggest that emotion-related processes become more positive with age, recent empirical findings on affective experience, emotion regulation, and emotion perception depict a more nuanced picture. Though there is some evidence for positive age trajectories in affective experience, results are mixed for emotion regulation and largely negative for emotion perception. Thus, current findings suggest that the effects of age on emotion vary across different affective domains; age patterns are also influenced by different moderators, including contextual factors and individual differences.
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23
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Murry MWE, Isaacowitz DM. Age differences in emotion perception. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT 2016. [DOI: 10.1177/0165025416667493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Older adults tend to have lower emotion-perception accuracy compared to younger adults. Previous studies have centered on individual characteristics, including cognitive decline and positive attentional preferences, as possible mechanisms underlying these age differences in emotion perception; however, thus far, no perceiver-focused factor has accounted for the age differences. The present study focuses on perceived social-context factors and uses the Social Input Model as the framework for investigating the relation between the expressivity of the social environment and emotion-perception accuracy in younger and older adults. Younger ( n = 32) and older adults ( n = 29) reported on the make-up of their social circles and the expressivity of their three closest social partners and then completed a static facial emotion-perception task. Older adults reported greater positive and negative expressivity in their social partners compared to younger adults. Moreover, older adults were marginally less accurate than younger adults when perceiving emotions. Positive expressivity of the social partners predicted lower emotion-perception accuracy in younger but not older adults. Our findings mark the first step to identifying possible characteristics of the social environment that may contribute to the age difference in emotion-perception accuracy.
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24
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Grainger SA, Henry JD, Phillips LH, Vanman EJ, Allen R. Age Deficits in Facial Affect Recognition: The Influence of Dynamic Cues. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2015; 72:622-632. [DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbv100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2015] [Accepted: 10/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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