Attention and ageing: Measuring effects of involuntary and voluntary orienting in isolation and in combination

The cueing paradigm provides an established method for eliciting involuntary and voluntary attention shifts. Involuntary orienting is traditionally measured with non‐predictive peripheral cues and voluntary orienting with predictive central arrows. Recent studies with young adults have established that predictive central arrows trigger a combination of involuntary and voluntary orienting, raising the possibility that previous studies – including those with older adults – misinterpreted their findings with central arrow cues as isolating the effects of voluntary attention. The present experiment applied different cueing conditions that measured involuntary orienting, voluntary orienting, and involuntary and voluntary orienting in combination in older adults. The results show that past studies of voluntary orienting in older adults confound involuntary and voluntary orienting. Cueing effects in a condition that for the first time isolated voluntary orienting (predictive number cues) with older adults were significant, and comparable to effects for younger adults, demonstrating that older adults successfully utilize cues to direct their spatial attention strategically. A similar normal pattern of orienting was observed for involuntary orienting. Our study provides a methodology that can be applied effectively to isolate and investigate the effects of age on voluntary and involuntary attention.     

Autobiographical memory functions and posttraumatic stress symptoms across adulthood

Previous research has documented robust individual differences in the functions served by autobiographical memories, and shown that different autobiographical memory functions are related to both positive and negative indicators of psychological well-being, and that their frequency varies with age. In this study, we examined the unique relationship between autobiographical memory functions and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and whether such relationships varied with age across adulthood. A representative sample of 1040 adult Danes (20–70 years old) reported the frequency with which they recall autobiographical memories for different purposes as well as their level of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Higher reflective and ruminative functions, as well as lower social function, predicted higher levels of PTSS. There were no moderating effects of age. The results suggest that although the frequency of various autobiographical functions varies throughout the adult years, their association with PTSS is similar across adulthood.     

How Dispositional Optimists and Pessimists Evaluate their Past,Present and Anticipated Future Life Satisfaction: A Lifespan Approach

Dispositional optimism is typically conceptualized with respect to generalized positive expectancies for personal future outcomes. The present work draws on lifespan development theory to evaluate how dispositional optimists and pessimists from across the lifespan evaluate their past, present and anticipated future life satisfaction (LS). Using data from an American probability sample (n = 3871, ages = 30–84 years, 55% female), I compared dispositional optimists and pessimists across six age decades. Subjective LS trajectories reflected in mean trends in ratings of past, present and future LS were contoured by lifestage, revealing inclining trajectories among young dispositional optimists and pessimists and declining trajectories among older optimists and pessimists. After adjusting for age‐specific normative trends, however, differences between dispositional optimists and pessimists in subjective LS trajectories were consistent across lifestage, revealing a single dissociative pattern wherein optimists rated their past, present and anticipated future LS more positively than did pessimists. Of the three temporal perspectives, evaluations of present (rather than past or future) LS were most consistently related to dispositional optimism. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does life satisfaction change with age? A comparison of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Sweden

In this study, the relationship between age and life satisfaction was examined over a period of 27 years (1982-2009) in four countries—Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Sweden—using nationally representative samples of adults between the ages of 15 and 100 from the European Value Survey, the World Values Survey, and the European Social Survey (total N = 39,420). Unlike in Finland and Sweden, the relationship between age and subjective well-being in Estonia and Latvia was best described as curvilinear, with younger and older people having higher levels of life satisfaction. The observed age differences in life satisfaction in Estonia and Latvia, however, seem to be due to an interaction of cohort and period differences.     

从毕生发展的角度看个体分类倾向的两次转变——材料的生命性和可操作性的作用

研究从毕生发展的视角考察了个体分类倾向的发展轨迹,并探讨任务材料内容可能对其产生的影响。选取幼儿园、小学、中学、大学和中老年个体各30名作为研究对象,记录他们面对不同的分类材料(有/无生命、高/低可操作性)的分类倾向。结果表明个体的分类倾向经历了两次转变:(1)进入小学后主题分类倾向逐渐降低,并在2、3年级时最低;(2)进入中学之后,个体逐渐恢复对主题分类倾向的偏好,中学和大学的个体面对含有生命体或是可操作性高的材料会比面对非生命体或可操作性低的材料时,更倾向于使用主题分类的策略。这一结果表明,个体对不同材料内容的分类倾向的发展轨迹存在差异,研究结果有助于理解个体概念组织的形成和发展过程。     

Intelligence moderates the benefits of strategy instructions on memory performance: an adult-lifespan examination

Whether older adults can compensate for their associative memory deficit by using memory strategies efficiently might depend on their general cognitive abilities. This study examined the moderating role of an IQ estimate on the beneficial effects of strategy instructions. A total of 142 participants (aged 18–85 years) received either intentional learning or strategy (“sentence generation”) instructions during encoding of word pairs. Whereas young adults with a lower IQ benefited from strategy instructions, those with a higher IQ did not, presumably because they already use strategies spontaneously. Older adults showed the opposite effect: following strategy instructions, older adults with a higher IQ showed a strong increase in memory performance (approximately achieving the level of younger adults), whereas older adults with a lower IQ did not, suggesting that they have difficulties implementing the provided strategies. These results highlight the importance of the role of IQ in compensating for the aging-related memory decline.     

Adult attachment and spousal reactions to military deployment separations and reunions

We explored adult attachment and spousal perceptions of intrapersonal and relationship functioning during military deployments. In Study 1, spouses of military members experiencing a separation were assessed, and in Study Two, spouses of military members experiencing a reunion were assessed. Study 3 entailed a large‐scale survey of relationship perceptions of spouses of military members. In Studies One and Two, attachment dimensions were related to perceptions of intrapersonal and relationship functioning during the separation and reunion, with associations moderated by days separated/reunited. In Study 3, attachment dimensions were related to relationship perceptions, with associations moderated by deployment stages. This research not only contributes to the knowledge of attachment processes in military contexts but also has the potential to inform policies and services supporting military families.     

损失规避源于得失程数多于获得？——损失规避的得失程数变化视角的再检验

刘欢、梁竹苑 和 李纾（2009a）在证明损失规避的得失程数变化视角时所取的损益值取值范围、对安于现状偏差影响的控制以及所选取的得两程失一程和得三程失两程的决策对象这四个方面存在的缺陷。本研究通过弥补上述缺陷并设计无关变量得到更严格控制的得三程失两程的决策情景,对得失程数变化视角重新进行了检验。结果发现,寿命“得一程失一程”的属性并未导致损失规避消失;在广泛的损益值范围内以自由为对象的决策同样表现为损失规避;将自由感知为生而拥有和后天获得的人数大致相当;因而得失程数变化视角需作出重要修正,同时前景理论与情绪预测误差理论亦不可完全预测损失规避出现的条件。     

Predicting real-world behaviour: Cognition-emotion links across adulthood and everyday functioning at work

ABSTRACT

Inspired by the discovery of positive age trends in emotional well-being across adulthood, lifespan researchers have uncovered fascinating age differences in cognition–emotion interactions in healthy adult samples, for example in emotion processing, memory, reactivity, perception, and regulation. Taking stock of this body of research, I identify four trends and five remaining gaps in our understanding of emotional functioning in adulthood. In particular, I suggest that the field should pay stronger attention to the prediction of real-world behaviour. Using the sample case of work functioning, I outline gaps in current knowledge, including the lack of data on middle-aged adults, the neglect of relevant cognitive-emotional mechanisms, and the unclear role of life experience. Filling these gaps will enable progress in research on emotional aging in and beyond the work setting and enhance its practical utility for individuals, organisations, and society.