Age Differences in Affective Well-Being: Context Matters

The study of emotion across the adult lifespan requires an understanding of how life circumstances change with age. With this knowledge, we can predict when age is related to increases in affective well-being and when age no longer confers such benefits. In the current paper, we review research that finds age-related stability and even increases in affective well-being, as well as age-related strengths in several emotion regulation strategies. We introduce the theory of Strength and Vulnerability Integration to predict age-related patterns in emotional experience across the adult lifespan, and to identify situations when age will no longer be related to improved emotion-related outcomes. We suggest that only by understanding the context of daily life can we predict when and how age is related to affective well-being.     

Adult Age Differences in Attention to Semantic Context

ABSTRACT

In three experiments age differences in attention to semantic context were examined. The performance of younger adults (ages 18–29 years) and older adults (ages 60–79 years) on a semantic priming task indicated that both age groups could use information regarding the probability that a prime and target would be related to flexibly anticipate the target category given the prime word (Experiment 1). The timing by which target expectancies were reflected in reaction time performance was delayed for older adults as compared to younger adults, but only when the target was expected to be semantically unrelated to the prime word (Experiment 2). When the target and prime were expected to be semantically related, the time course of priming effects was similar for younger and older adults (Experiment 3). Together the findings indicate that older adults are able to use semantic context and the probability of stimulus relatedness to anticipate target information. Although aging may be associated with a delay in the timing by which controlled expectancies are expressed, these findings argue against an age-related decline in the ability to represent contextual information.     

Age Differences in Learning from Instructional Animations

The present study tests the effects of the decline of executive functions and spatial abilities with aging on the comprehension of a complex instructional animation. An animation of a piano mechanism was presented individually to 33 young adults and 31 elderly participants. Two presentation speeds of the animation (normal and slow) were compared in a 2 × 2 experimental design. Eye movements were recorded during the learning time. Then, four executive function tests (inhibition, shifting, updating, and processing speed) and a spatial ability test (differential aptitude test) were undertaken by each participant. Results showed that the comprehension of animations was significantly affected by aging. Significant differences between young and old groups were found for executive functions and spatial abilities. Regressions on comprehension scores showed a strong significant effect of spatial ability. Like in previous research, presentation speed had no effect. Eye movement data showed this result was due to application of a compensation strategy. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes with Age in Subjective Well-Being Through the Adolescent Years: Differences by Gender

A one-year follow up study was conducted on a sample of 940 Spanish adolescents aged mostly from 10 to 15 in order to explore the extent to which their subjective well-being (SWB) changes from one year to the next, and whether these changes are the same for both genders regardless of the instrument used to measure SWB. Participants responded to the same four SWB scales twice, with an interval of a year in between. A decrease in the levels of SWB is identified from the years 11–12 onwards, the decrease in girls being more marked. Multiple-item, domain-based scales (Brief Multidimensional Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale and Personal Well-Being Index) are more sensitive than single-item scales (Overall Life Satisfaction and Happiness Taking into Account Overall Life) in detecting this decrease. Implications for the study of SWB are discussed from a developmental perspective.     

A Multi-Occasion Multi-Rater Model of Affective Dispositions and Affective Well-Being

Personality theories assume that affective dispositions have a strong influence on affective experience and well-being, produce cross-situational consistency, and that positive and negative experiences are influenced by separate dispositions. These assumptions were tested using multi-method data. 97 married couples completed self and informant ratings of affective dispositions, a 14-day experience sampling study, and retrospective self and informant ratings of affective experiences (overall and with spouse). Analysis was conducted using a multi-trait-multi-method matrix and structural equation modeling. Main findings were (a) strong effects of affective dispositions on affective experiences with partner and affective well-being, (b) shared method variance among disposition and well-being ratings by the same rater, and (c) moderate to strong negative correlations between dispositions for positive and negative affect.     

Context Matters for Social-Emotional Learning: Examining Variation in Program Impact by Dimensions of School Climate

This paper examines whether three dimensions of school climate—leadership, accountability, and safety/respect—moderated the impacts of the INSIGHTS program on students’ social‐emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Twenty‐two urban schools and N = 435 low‐income racial/ethnic minority students were enrolled in the study and received intervention services across the course of 2 years, in both kindergarten and first grade. Intervention effects on math and reading achievement were larger for students enrolled in schools with lower overall levels of leadership, accountability, and safety/respect at baseline. Program impacts on disruptive behaviors were greater in schools with lower levels of accountability at baseline; impacts on sustained attention were greater in schools with lower levels of safety/respect at baseline. Implications for Social‐Emotional Learning program implementation, replication, and scale‐up are discussed.     

Age-Related Differences in Lay Conceptions of Well-Being and Experienced Well-Being

Conceptions of well-being are defined as a system of beliefs concerning the nature and experience of well-being and can be described generally by the degree to which four dimensions, representing (1) the experience of pleasure, (2) avoidance of negative experience, (3) selfdevelopment, and (4) contribution to others, are emphasized. A first main objective of the current study was to investigate age-related differences in younger and older adults’ conceptions of well-being. A second main objective was to address whether conceptions of well-being are differentially associated with experienced well-being in younger and older adults. Results indicated several age-related differences in conceptions of well-being, with younger adults reporting more emphasis on the experience of pleasure and self-development, older adults reporting more emphasis on avoidance of negative experience, and younger and older adults reporting similar levels of emphasis on contribution to others. Results further indicated several age-related differences in associations between the experience of pleasure and avoidance of negative experience dimensions and well-being, with these two dimensions being more strongly and positively associated with well-being in older adults. Self-development and contribution to others were found to be positively associated with well-being regardless of age.