Age Differences in Emotion Regulation and Facial Muscle Reactivity to Emotional Films

Age differences in emotional reactions to ageist memes and changes in age of one's Best Self

Memes on social media can carry ageist messages and can elicit reactions that are both emotional and self-evaluative. The present study investigates age-related differences in nine discrete emotions and in the evaluation of when individuals have been or will be their best selves. Participants (n = 360) representing young (m = 26 years), middle-aged (m = 39 years) and older adults (m = 63 years) were randomly assigned to view either non-ageist (animals) or ageist (e.g., incompetent older people) memes. After viewing memes, we assessed nine emotional reactions (i.e., fear, anger, sadness, happiness, anxiety, discomfort, disgust, surprise, enjoyment) and Best Self evaluations. Younger and middle-aged people reported more intense emotional reactions to memes than older people, with the exception that older people reported more discomfort and disgust in response to ageist versus non-ageist memes. Younger adults were less surprised by ageist memes (vs. non-ageist) and for all age groups ageist memes (vs. non-ageist) elicited less happiness and enjoyment and were less likely to be shared. With respect to evaluations of one's Best Self, older individuals were more likely to report being their best selves in the past, while after viewing ageist memes, younger individuals were more likely to report being their best selves in the future. Emotions of disgust and discomfort were related to identifying one's Best Self as further in the past. The current study adds to the literature on the impact of ageism by examining age-related differences in the emotions and self-evaluations experienced when confronted with memes on social media.

Emotion regulation mediates the relationship between social frailty and stress, anxiety, and depression

Social frailty refers to an inability to meet basic social needs and has been identified as a threat to physical and mental health. Although social frailty has been linked with many adverse health and well-being outcomes, potential mediators of the relationship between social frailty and well-being remain poorly understood. Emotion regulation refers to the capacity to alter the experience of emotions to behave in accordance with a desired goal. The present study was designed to provide the first direct test of whether emotion regulation mediates the relationships between social frailty and important well-being outcomes (stress, anxiety, and depression). A total of 790 participants completed validated measures of social frailty, stress, anxiety, depression, and emotion regulation. In line with our preregistered hypotheses, higher social frailty predicted increased stress, anxiety, and depression, and each of these relationships were partially mediated by emotion regulation capacity. These data provide novel evidence that emotion regulation abilities may serve as a protective factor against the negative consequences of social frailty.

The cognitive tenacity of self-directed ageism

Ageism refers to prejudice or discrimination based on a person's age. When ageism is directed at older people, it is unique in two ways: it is socially condoned in a manner that other types of prejudice are not, and the animus is eventually self-directed. Of central interest here is why ageism becomes self-directed in late adulthood, despite its potentially harmful personal costs. We present a cognitive model in which negative ageist beliefs become increasingly accessible and difficult to eliminate owing to broader developmental shifts in mentation. Given that these effects are contingent on our social environment, systemic changes in societal conceptions of age and aging are needed if we are to reduce vulnerability to self-directed ageism.

Intranasal Oxytocin Modulates the Salience Network in Aging

Growing evidence supports a role of the neuropeptide oxytocin in promoting social cognition and prosocial behavior, possibly via modulation of the salience of social information. The effect of intranasal oxytocin administration on the salience network, however, is not well understood, including in the aging brain. To address this research gap, 42 young (22.52 ± 3.02 years; 24 in the oxytocin group) and 43 older (71.12 ± 5.25 years; 21 in the oxytocin group) participants were randomized to either self-administer intranasal oxytocin or placebo prior to resting-state functional imaging. The salience network was identified using independent component analysis (ICA). Independent t-tests showed that individuals in the oxytocin compared to the placebo group had lower within-network resting-state functional connectivity, both for left amygdala (MNI coordinates: x = −18, y = 0, z = −15; corrected p < 0.05) within a more ventral salience network and for right insula (MNI coordinates: x = 39, y = 6, z = −6; corrected p < 0.05) within a more dorsal salience network. Age moderation analysis furthermore demonstrated that the oxytocin-reduced functional connectivity between the ventral salience network and the left amygdala was only present in older participants. These findings suggest a modulatory role of exogenous oxytocin on resting-state functional connectivity within the salience network and support age-differential effects of acute intranasal oxytocin administration on this network.

Changes in Computer-Analyzed Facial Expressions with Age

Facial expressions are well known to change with age, but the quantitative properties of facial aging remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the differences in the intensity of facial expressions between older (n = 56) and younger adults (n = 113). In laboratory experiments, the posed facial expressions of the participants were obtained based on six basic emotions and neutral facial expression stimuli, and the intensities of their faces were analyzed using a computer vision tool, OpenFace software. Our results showed that the older adults expressed strong expressions for some negative emotions and neutral faces. Furthermore, when making facial expressions, older adults used more face muscles than younger adults across the emotions. These results may help to understand the characteristics of facial expressions in aging and can provide empirical evidence for other fields regarding facial recognition.

Expressive suppression versus cognitive reappraisal: Effects on self-report and peripheral psychophysiology

Effectiveness of various emotion regulation (ER) strategies have received much attention in recent research. Among the most studied ER strategies are cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. However, the evidence of their effectiveness is controversial and depends on the measures used. The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression strategies of ER via different measures such as self-report, facial expressions (zygomaticus major and corrugator supercilii electromyography), and physiological assessment (skin conductance response and heart rate deceleration). Participants were presented with intensely unpleasant or neutral pictures and performed ER tasks. We expected that the implementation of ER strategies would reduce negative emotions, and cognitive reappraisal would produce greater reduction in negative emotions compared to expressive suppression. Self-report data showed that reappraisal had a greater effect on the reduction of negative emotions compared to suppression. There was no difference between reappraisal and suppression assessed with skin conductance response and electromyography. Curiously, heart rate deceleration increased while participants tried to suppress their emotional expressions, which could reflect efforts exerted in the attempt to suppress. The ER strategies reduced negative emotions during the presentation of unpleasant pictures partially in skin conductance response and heart rate deceleration. Overall, reappraisal is more effective in changing subjective experience, whereas the physiological reactions do not differ substantially between the two ER strategies explored. We therefore recommend that the assessment of ER strategies in the laboratory should accommodate more than one type of measures to come to more reliable conclusions.