Age invariance in rapid facial affective reactions to emotionally valenced stimuli

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 1687-1697
Author(s):  
Matthew R Nangle ◽  
Phoebe E Bailey ◽  
Julie D Henry ◽  
Georgina S Khlentzos ◽  
Kandice J Varcin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Affective Response ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Sensory Awareness ◽  
Positivity Effect ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Facial Images ◽  
Positive Stimuli

It has been suggested that an age-related positivity effect may only occur in the context of explicit information processing, but it is unclear whether this bias extends to the processing of rapid facial reactions. In addition, most studies that have looked for evidence of age-related implicit positivity have used attentional (as opposed to sensory) unawareness paradigms, or used broad-based indicators of attentional awareness that do not speak to the nature of the affective response. In the present study, younger and older adults were therefore asked to view non-facial images presented supraliminally (i.e., consciously) as well as outside of sensory awareness (i.e., subliminally) while their facial reactions were indexed using electromyography. The results indicated that both younger and older adults exhibited rapid facial reactions congruent with the emotional valence of non-facial images in both supraliminal and subliminal conditions. Relative to young, older adults did not respond with greater zygomaticus (cheek) activity to positive stimuli or reduced corrugator (brow) activity to negative stimuli in either condition. These data show that rapid facial reactions to emotional stimuli are intact in late adulthood, even in response to stimuli that activate more automatic and implicit forms of emotion processing. However, there is no evidence for any age-related positivity bias in these behavioral responses.

scholarly journals Adult age differences in subjective responses to dynamic socioemotional incentives

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sade J Abiodun ◽  
Galen McAllister ◽  
Gregory Russell Samanez-Larkin ◽  
Kendra Leigh Seaman
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Incentive Motivation ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Positivity Effect ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Adult Age Differences

Facial expressions are powerful communicative social signals that motivate feelings and action in the observer. However, research on incentive motivation has overwhelmingly focused on money and points and the limited research on social incentives has been mostly focused on responses in young adulthood. Previous research on the age-related positivity effect and adult age differences in social motivation suggest that older adults might experience higher levels of positive arousal to socioemotional stimuli than younger adults. Affect ratings following dynamic emotional expressions (anger, happiness, sadness) varying in magnitude of expression showed that higher magnitude expressions elicited higher arousal and valence ratings. Older adults did not differ significantly in levels of arousal when compared to younger adults, however their ratings of emotional valence were significantly higher as the magnitude of expressions increased. The findings provide novel evidence that socioemotional incentives may be relatively more reinforcing as adults age. More generally, these dynamic socioemotional stimuli that vary in magnitude are ideal for future studies of more naturalistic affect elicitation, studies of social incentive processing, and use in incentive-driven choice tasks.

Examining Positivity Effect and Working Memory in Young-Old and Very Old Adults Using EEG-Derived Cognitive State Metrics

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 1014-1035
Author(s):  
Joelle C. Ruthig ◽  
Dmitri P. Poltavski ◽  
Thomas Petros
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Cognitive State ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Very Old ◽  
Positivity Effect ◽  
Old Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Young Old

The positivity effect among older adults is a tendency to process more positive and/or less negative emotional stimuli compared to younger adults, with unknown upper age boundaries. Cognitive and emotional working memory were assessed in young-old adults (60–75) and very old adults (VOAs; 80+) to determine whether emotional working memory declines similar to the age-related decline of cognitive working memory. The moderating role of valence on the link between age and emotional working memory was examined to identify change in positivity effect with advanced age. Electroencephalography (EEG) markers of cognitive workload and engagement were obtained to test the theory of cognitive resource allocation in older adults’ emotional stimuli processing. EEG recordings were collected during cognitive memory task and emotional working memory tasks that required rating emotional intensity of images pairs. Results indicate a positivity effect among VOAs that does not require additional cognitive effort and is not likely to diminish with age.

scholarly journals Cultural Relevance Reduces the Enhanced Neural Processing of Positively Valenced Information in Older Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (10) ◽  
pp. 2075-2085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianmin Gong ◽  
Helene H Fung ◽  
Ginger Qinghong Zeng ◽  
Chun-Yu Tse
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Cultural Relevance ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Positivity Effect ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Older Chinese ◽  
Dual Route Model

Abstract Objectives This study investigated (a) whether the age-related enhancement in processing positive relative to negative emotional information happened at the early and/or late processing stages and (b) if the age-related positivity effect was modulated by cultural relevance using event-related brain potential (ERP). Methods Seventeen younger and 19 older Chinese adults judged the emotional valence of Chinese and Western pictures while electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded and analyzed by temporospatial principal component analysis to dissociate the processing stages. Results (a) Larger N100 for negative than positive pictures was observed in younger, but not older adults, while older but not younger adults showed larger late anterior P300 for positive than negative pictures. (b) Older adults showed larger early posterior P300 for positive than negative Western pictures, but not culturally relevant Chinese pictures; such modulation effect by cultural relevance was absent in younger adults. Discussion These findings suggest an age-related decrease in sensitivity to negative information in the earlier stage and an age-related increase in sensitivity to positive information in the later stage of cognitive processing. This supports a dual-route model of the age-related positivity effect. Moreover, the age-related positivity effect is more evident for stimuli with less cultural relevance.

scholarly journals Preparing for the worst: Evidence that older adults proactively downregulate negative affect

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Corbett ◽  
M. Natasha Rajah ◽  
Audrey Duarte
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Positivity Effect ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Impact

AbstractAge-related differences in processing emotional stimuli are well established. However, previous studies have only assessed the impact of age on emotional processing and encoding in response to, not in anticipation of, emotional stimuli. In the current study, we investigated age-related differences in the impact of emotional anticipation on affective responses and episodic memory for emotional images. Young and older were scanned while encoding negative and neutral images preceded by cues that were either valid or invalid predictors of image valence. Participants were asked to rate the emotional intensity of the images and to complete an episodic recognition task immediately after scanning. Using multivariate behavioral partial least squares (PLS) analysis, we found that young and older adults recruit the same set of brain regions to differentially support emotional processing during the anticipation of emotional images. Specifically, anticipatory recruitment of the amygdala, ventromedial PFC, and hippocampus in older adults predicts reduced memory for negative than neutral images for older adults and the opposite for young adults. Seed PLS analyses further show inverse coupling between the amygdala and ventromedial PFC activation following negative cues, consistent with the top-down spontaneous suppression of negative affect. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to provide evidence that the “positivity effect” seen in older adults’ memory performance is related to the spontaneous suppression of negative affect in anticipation of, not just in response to, negative stimuli.

scholarly journals Effects of aging on emotion recognition from dynamic multimodal expressions and vocalizations

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana S. Cortes ◽  
Christina Tornberg ◽  
Tanja Bänziger ◽  
Hillary Anger Elfenbein ◽  
Håkan Fischer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Positivity Effect ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Effects Of Aging

AbstractAge-related differences in emotion recognition have predominantly been investigated using static pictures of facial expressions, and positive emotions beyond happiness have rarely been included. The current study instead used dynamic facial and vocal stimuli, and included a wider than usual range of positive emotions. In Task 1, younger and older adults were tested for their abilities to recognize 12 emotions from brief video recordings presented in visual, auditory, and multimodal blocks. Task 2 assessed recognition of 18 emotions conveyed by non-linguistic vocalizations (e.g., laughter, sobs, and sighs). Results from both tasks showed that younger adults had significantly higher overall recognition rates than older adults. In Task 1, significant group differences (younger > older) were only observed for the auditory block (across all emotions), and for expressions of anger, irritation, and relief (across all presentation blocks). In Task 2, significant group differences were observed for 6 out of 9 positive, and 8 out of 9 negative emotions. Overall, results indicate that recognition of both positive and negative emotions show age-related differences. This suggests that the age-related positivity effect in emotion recognition may become less evident when dynamic emotional stimuli are used and happiness is not the only positive emotion under study.

scholarly journals Advanced Aging Enhances the Positivity Effect in Memory: Due to Cognitive Control or Age-Related Decline in Emotional Processing?

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiko Sakaki ◽  
Jasmine A. L. Raw ◽  
Jamie Findlay ◽  
Mariel Thottam
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Aging Brain ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Positivity Effect ◽  
Old Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Conditioned Responses

Older adults typically remember more positive than negative information compared to their younger counterparts; a phenomenon referred to as the ‘positivity effect.’ According to the socioemotional selectivity theory (SST), the positivity effect derives from the age-related motivational shift towards attaining emotionally meaningful goals which become more important as the perception of future time becomes more limited. Cognitive control mechanisms are critical in achieving such goals and therefore SST predicts that the positivity effect is associated with preserved cognitive control mechanisms in older adults. In contrast, the aging-brain model suggests that the positivity effect is driven by an age-related decline in the amygdala which is responsible for emotional processing and emotional learning. The aim of the current research was to address whether the age-related positivity effect is associated with cognitive control or impaired emotional processing associated with aging. We included older old adults, younger old adults and younger adults and tested their memory for emotional stimuli, cognitive control and amygdala-dependent fear conditioned responses. Consistent with prior research, older adults, relative to younger adults, demonstrate better memory for positive over negative images. We further found that within a group of older adults, the positivity effect increases as a function of age, such that older old adults demonstrated a greater positivity effect compared to younger older adults. Furthermore, the positivity effect in older old adults was associated with preserved cognitive control, supporting the prediction of SST. Contrary to the prediction of the aging-brain model, participants across all groups demonstrated similar enhanced skin conductance responses to fear conditioned stimuli – responses known to rely on the amygdala. Our results support SST and suggest that the positivity effect in older adults is achieved by the preserved cognitive control mechanisms and is not a reflection of the impaired emotional function associated with age.

scholarly journals Me Time, or We Time? Age Differences in Motivation for Exercise

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 709-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crystal N Steltenpohl ◽  
Michael Shuster ◽  
Eric Peist ◽  
Amber Pham ◽  
Joseph A Mikels
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Exercise Motivation ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Positivity Effect ◽  
Motivational Messages ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Important Health ◽  
Important Health Issue ◽  
Meaningful Relationships

Abstract Background and Objectives Increasing exercise continues to be an important health issue for both older and younger adults. Researchers have suggested several methods for increasing exercise motivation. Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) posits that people’s motivation shift from future-oriented instrumental goals to present-oriented emotionally meaningful goals as we age, which provides insight into how people’s motivations for exercise may differ for older versus younger adults. The aim of our study was to examine how exercise motivation differs for older versus younger adults. Research Design and Methods Older (greater than 59 years old) and younger (aged 18–26 years) adults participated in focus groups. They discussed exercise motivation (or lack thereof), motivators and barriers to exercise, and preferences about when, where, and with whom they exercise. Focus group transcripts were analyzed using direct content analysis and iterative categorization. Results Consistent with SST, younger adults generally preferred to exercise alone to achieve instrumental fitness goals, whereas older adults preferred to exercise with others. Additionally, older adults tend to consider peripheral others (e.g., strangers, acquaintances), as a positive rather than a negative influence. Discussion and Implications SST provides a framework for exploring age-related shifts in exercise motivation. Additionally, the positivity effect was reflected in how older adults evaluated the influence of peripheral others. Motivational messages could be tailored to increase health behavior changes by focusing on instrumental exercise goals for younger adults and exercise focused on meaningful relationships for older adults.

scholarly journals Inhibitory control and its relationship to positivity biases in older adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caoimhe McManus ◽  
David McGovern
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Negative Information ◽  
Socioemotional Selectivity Theory ◽  
Positive Information ◽  
Active Suppression ◽  
Positivity Effect ◽  
Socioemotional Selectivity ◽  
Age Related

Older adults tend to focus on positive information over negative information; a phenomenon commonly referred to as the ‘positivity effect’. Socioemotional Selectivity Theory posits that this effect stems from age-related shifts in goals and relies heavily on the active suppression of negative information. The current study tested the hypothesis that inhibitory control is a key determinant of positivity biases in older adults using anti-saccade and recognition memory tasks. Results indicated a significant correlation between levels of inhibitory control and the positivity effect. These findings highlight the key role played by inhibitory control in determining positivity biases amongst older adults.

scholarly journals Losing Money and Motivation: Effects of Loss Incentives on Motivation and Metacognition in Younger and Older Adults

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyesue Jang ◽  
Ziyong Lin ◽  
Cindy Lustig
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Integration Theory ◽  
Improve Performance ◽  
Positivity Effect ◽  
Socioemotional Selectivity ◽  
Impact Performance ◽  
Engagement Theory ◽  
Incentive Effects ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Age Related

Incentives are usually expected to increase motivation and the engagement of cognitive control, and to thereby improve performance on cognitively-demanding tasks. However, a closer read of the literature suggests that incentive effects on performance can be elusive. Further, although loss incentives are common in everyday life, most laboratory studies focus on gain effects. Different theoretical perspectives offer competing predictions for the effects of loss incentives, especially in older adults: The intuitive prediction is that loss incentives should improve performance. In contrast, Socioemotional Selectivity Theory and the age-related positivity effect (Carstensen & Mikels, 2005) would predict that older adults should be largely immune to loss-incentive effects. However, Selective Engagement Theory (Hess, 2014) and the Strength and Vulnerability Integration Theory (Charles, 2010) suggest that losses might increase the ‘perceived costs’ for older adults, and thus lead to disengagement and worse performance. Moreover, most studies use changes in performance or other measures as de facto indices of motivation, rather than measuring motivation directly. To address these gaps in the literature, we examined the effects of loss incentives on measures related to subjective engagement, motivation, and meta-cognition as well as working memory. Even though loss incentive did not impact performance, our findings were most consistent with the idea that loss incentives increase the perceived demands of a task and lead to disengagement. The loss incentive also increased the absolute metacognitive accuracy. Despite the lack of age differences in some measures of the incentive effect, the post-task questionnaires suggest different reasons for arriving at these results (distraction vs de-motivation) in younger versus older adults. The results suggest that the effects (or lack thereof) of incentive on performance may reflect factors other than motivation per se.

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