“I will never quit dancing”. The emotional experiences of social dancing among older persons

To investigate the effects of leisure activities on cognitive performance of healthy older subjects, an innovative intervention program was developed. Frequent participation in cognitively stimulating activities (i.e., reading, playing chess, or playing music) is associated with reduced risk of dementia. AKTIVA (active cognitive stimulation – prevention in the elderly) is an intervention program designed to enhance cognitive stimulation in everyday life by increasing cognitive stimulating leisure activities. The present study determines the effects of AKTIVA on cognitive function, mood and attitude toward aging in a sample of older participants from the general population. Several measurement instruments were used including the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-Cog), the Trail-Making Test (TMT), and the Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q). Initially, the sample consisted of 307 older persons (170 female, 72 ± 7 years). The intervention was evaluated with a randomized, controlled pre-post follow-up design. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: AKTIVA intervention (n = 126), AKTIVA intervention plus nutrition and exercise counseling (n = 84), no-intervention control group (n = 97). The AKTIVA intervention consisted of 8 weekly sessions and two booster sessions after a break of 4 months. Participation in the group program resulted in positive effects on cognitive function and attitude toward aging for subassembly groups. Older persons (≥ 75 years) showed enhanced speed of information processing (by TMT Version A) (F = 4.17*, p < .05); younger participants (< 75 years) showed an improvement in subjective memory decline (by MAC-Q) (F = 2.55*, p < .05). Additionally, AKTIVA enhanced the frequency of activities for leisure activities for subassembly groups. The results of this study suggest that the AKTIVA program can be used to increase cognitively stimulating leisure activities in the elderly. Further research is necessary to identify the long-term effects of this intervention particularly with respect to the prevention of dementia.

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Intraindividual Variability and Stability of Affect and Well-Being

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000094 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 185-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Christina Röcke ◽

Annette Brose

Keyword(s):

Age Differences ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Emotional Experiences ◽

Short Term ◽

Regulatory Processes ◽

Functional Implications ◽

Methodological Approaches ◽

Underlying Processes

Whereas subjective well-being remains relatively stable across adulthood, emotional experiences show remarkable short-term variability, with younger and older adults differing in both amount and correlates. Repeatedly assessed affect data captures both the dynamics and stability as well as stabilization that may indicate emotion-regulatory processes. The article reviews (1) research approaches to intraindividual affect variability, (2) functional implications of affect variability, and (3) age differences in affect variability. Based on this review, we discuss how the broader literature on emotional aging can be better integrated with theories and concepts of intraindividual affect variability by using appropriate methodological approaches. Finally, we show how a better understanding of affect variability and its underlying processes could contribute to the long-term stabilization of well-being in old age.

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The Case of Thematic Tests Adapted to Older Adults

Rorschachiana Journal of the International Society for the Rorschach ◽

10.1027/1192-5604/a000015 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 46-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Benoît Verdon

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Older Persons ◽

Older Men ◽

Elderly Persons ◽

Mental Processes ◽

Men And Women ◽

Projective Tests ◽

New Material ◽

Older Men And Women ◽

Latent Content

Since the 1950s, the growing interest of clinicians in using projective tests to study normal or pathological aging processes has led to the creation of several thematic tests for older adults. This development reflects their authors’ belief that the TAT is not suitable to the concerns and anxieties of elderly persons. The new material thus refers explicitly to situations related to age; it aims to enable older persons to express needs they cannot verbalize during consultations. The psychodynamic approach to thematic testing is based on the differentiation between the pictures’ manifest and latent content, eliciting responses linked to mental processes and issues the respondent is unaware of. The cards do not necessarily have to show aging characters to elicit identification: The situations shown in the pictures are linked to loss, rivalry, helplessness, and renunciation, all issues elderly respondents can identify with and that lead them to express their mental fragilities and resources. The article first explains the principles underlying four of these thematic tests, then develops several examples of stories told for card 3BM of the TAT, thus showing the effectiveness of this tool for the understanding and differentiation of loss-related issues facing older men and women.

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Emotional Experiences of Students in the Classroom

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040/a000014 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 142-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Wondimu Ahmed ◽

Greetje van der Werf ◽

Alexander Minnaert

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Emotional Response ◽

Task Difficulty ◽

Physiological Reactivity ◽

Emotional Experiences ◽

Heart Rate Monitoring ◽

Coding Scheme ◽

Stimulated Recall ◽

Response Systems ◽

The Relationship

In this article, we report on a multimethod qualitative study designed to explore the emotional experiences of students in the classroom setting. The purpose of the study was threefold: (1) to explore the correspondence among nonverbal expressions, subjective feelings, and physiological reactivity (heart rate changes) of students’ emotions in the classroom; (2) to examine the relationship between students’ emotions and their competence and value appraisals; and (3) to determine whether task difficulty matters in emotional experiences. We used multiple methods (nonverbal coding scheme, video stimulated recall interview, and heart rate monitoring) to acquire data on emotional experiences of six grade 7 students. Concurrent correspondence analyses of the emotional indices revealed that coherence between emotional response systems, although apparent, is not conclusive. The relationship between appraisals and emotions was evident, but the effect of task difficulty appears to be minimal.

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