Are there age differences in attention to emotional images following a sad mood induction? Evidence from a free-viewing eye-tracking paradigm

Two experiments examined age differences in the effect of a sad mood induction (MI) on attention to emotional images. Younger and older adults viewed sets of four images while their eye gaze was tracked throughout an 8-s presentation. Images were viewed before and after a sad MI to assess the effect of a sad mood on attention to positive and negative scenes. Younger and older adults exhibited positively biased attention after the sad MI, significantly increasing their attention to positive images, with no evidence of an age difference in either experiment. A test of participants’ recognition memory for the images indicated that the sad MI reduced memory accuracy for sad images for younger and older adults. The results suggest that heightened attention to positive images following a sad MI reflects an affect regulation strategy related to mood repair. The implications for theories of the positivity effect are discussed.     

Scoring formulas and probability considerations

Bayes' theorem of inverse probability is made the basis of a general equation for scoring objective examinations. The equation so obtained is evaluated by assuming a binomial distribution of examinee knowledge and guessing tendency. A graphical illustration of the application of this equation to a hypothetical test situation is presented. The limitations inherent in the use of Bayes' theorem make it inadvisable to recommend the practical use of the equation unless future experimental evidence indicates an increase in scoring validity which more than compensates for the increase in scoring difficulty.