scholarly journals Understanding the relationship between age and information-seeking in the context of COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 961-961
Author(s):  
Li Chu ◽  
Theresa Pauly ◽  
Elizabeth Zambrano Garza ◽  
Denis Gerstorf ◽  
Christiane Hoppmann
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Time Perspective ◽  
Future Time Perspective ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Older Adulthood ◽  
Socioemotional Selectivity ◽  
Online Study ◽  
Age Range

Abstract Socioemotional selectivity theory proposes that older adults engage in less information-seeking than younger adults as future time perspective becomes more limited and expansive goals are prioritized less. However, gathering information is crucial in emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for older adults, who are particularly vulnerable to the virus. This study aims to better understand the association between age and information-seeking patterns during the current pandemic. Two hundred and sixty-six participants (age range = 18 – 84, Mage = 38.86, female = 77.06%, received postsecondary education = 83.08%, born in Canada = 73.68%) completed an online study between May and August 2020. We found that older age was associated with more information-seeking time (b = .45, SE = .16, p < .001). We then investigated whether perceived worries of getting COVID-19 might provide insights into this association. Findings point to a partial mediation with a significant direct effect (b = .37, SE = .16, p = .02, 95% bootstrap CI=[.07, .68]), a marginally significant indirect effect (b = .08, SE = .04, p = .06, 95% bootstrap CI=[-.003, .18]) and a significant total effect (b = .46, SE = .16, p < .001, 95% bootstrap CI=[.14, .77]). That is, older adults engaged in more information-seeking than younger adults in contexts in which information-seeking was personally relevant as indicated by perceived worries. These findings shed light on key correlates of information-seeking in older adulthood and highlight the importance for government and health organizations to make suitable information accessible for older adults.

Contrasting the Effects of Mortality Salience and Future Time Limitation on Goal Prioritization in Older and Younger Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (10) ◽  
pp. 2112-2121
Author(s):  
Helene H Fung ◽  
Steven Tsun-Wai Chu ◽  
Da Jiang ◽  
Amber Xuqian Chen ◽  
Carson Chuen Ng
Keyword(s):  
Time Perspective ◽  
Mortality Salience ◽  
Future Time Perspective ◽  
Future Time ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Socioemotional Selectivity ◽  
Cultural Worldview ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Cultural Worldviews ◽  
Study Participants

Abstract Objectives This study aims at contrasting the effects of limited future time perspective and mortality salience on goal prioritization across adulthood. Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) argues that people increasingly prioritize emotionally meaningful goals when they perceive future time as more limited. Terror management theory (TMT) suggests that mortality salience (i.e., the awareness of one’s mortality) drives people to prioritize the goal of perpetuating own existence through affirming cultural worldview. Method In this study, participants (N = 438) were randomly assigned to six conditions that primed (a) limited future time, (b) mortality salience, (c) death reflection, (d) both limited future time and mortality salience, (e) both limited future time, and death reflection, or (f) none. Results Results showed that older adults allocated significantly more resources to emotionally close recipients who supported their cultural worldviews in conditions involving future time limitation and death reflection. They also allocated less resources to emotionally not close recipients who did not support their cultural worldviews in conditions involving future time limitation. Younger adults did not show these differences. Nor did mortality salience have any effect. Discussion These results suggest that future time perspective and death reflection shift age-related goals more than mortality salience.

scholarly journals THE UPSIDE OF GETTING OLD: TESTING A MODEL OF OLDER AGE AND BETTER EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S723-S724
Author(s):  
Jenna Wilson ◽  
JoNell Strough ◽  
Natalie Shook
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Time Perspective ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Time Perspective ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
The Moment

Abstract Older adults often report better emotional well-being than younger adults. Socioemotional Selectivity Theory posits that with age, reduced future time perspective motivates prioritizing emotional well-being in the present moment (Carstensen, 2006). Mindfulness, a receptive attention to experiences as they occur (Brown & Ryan, 2003), and savoring, the ability to regulate positive feelings in the moment (Bryant, 2003), are present-oriented processes associated with greater well-being. Recent evidence indicates that greater mindfulness in part accounts for age differences in positive affect (Shook et al., 2017). The current study investigated whether older age is associated with a greater present-oriented time perspective, which in turn is related to greater savoring and mindfulness, thus statistically accounting for older adults’ better well-being. Participants (N = 888, 20-88 years, Mage = 46.37, SD = 15.20) recruited via MTurk completed an online survey. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The model provided an adequate fit to the data (CMIN/DF = 2.94, CFI = 0.985, RMSEA = 0.048). Older age was associated with greater present-oriented time perspective, and present-oriented time perspective was associated with greater savoring and mindfulness which, in turn, were associated with better emotional well-being. Alternative models were tested, but did not significantly improve model fit. Findings suggest that there may be benefits for younger adults’ well-being if they learned to be more present focused, savor the moment, and be more mindful like older adults. Thus, present-oriented time perspective may be an important factor for healthy aging.

scholarly journals Future Time Perspective

GeroPsych ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiao-Wen Liao ◽  
Laura L. Carstensen
Keyword(s):  
Time Perspective ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Time Perspective ◽  
Subjective Time ◽  
Future Time ◽  
Socioemotional Selectivity ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Time Horizons ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences

Abstract. The articles in the present volume enhance the understanding of the role of perceived time in human development. Together, they point to the multifaceted nature of perceived future time and the associations different aspects of time have with goals, preferences, and well-being. Specifically, the articles showcase antecedents and consequences of perceived time left in life, consider ways to optimize measurement of future time horizons, and advance novel questions about the neural correlates of domain-specific aspects of subjective time. Findings are considered within the framework of socioemotional selectivity theory. Future directions for research on time horizons are discussed.

Goal disengagement capacities and severity of disease across older adulthood

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joelle Jobin ◽  
Carsten Wrosch
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Emotional Distress ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Older Adulthood ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Goal Disengagement ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Early Old Age

This study examined age-related associations between goal disengagement capacities, emotional distress, and disease severity across older adulthood. Given that an age-related increase in the experience of stressors might render important goals unattainable, it is expected that goal disengagement capacities would predict a decrease in the severity of experienced illness (i.e., the common cold) by preventing emotional distress (i.e., depressive symptoms), particularly so among individuals in advanced (as compared to early) old age. This hypothesis was tested in a 6-year longitudinal study of 131 older adults (age range = 64 to 90). Regression analyses showed that goal disengagement capacities buffered 6-year increases in older adults’ cold symptoms, and that this effect was significantly pronounced among older-old participants. Mediation analyses further indicated that changes in depressive symptoms exerted an indirect effect on the age-related association between goal disengagement and changes in cold symptoms. The study’s findings suggest that goal disengagement capacities become increasingly important for protecting emotional well-being and physical health as older adults advance in age.

scholarly journals The Influence of Verbatim Versus Gist Formatting on Younger and Older Adults’ Information Acquisition

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 557-557
Author(s):  
Julia Nolte ◽  
Corinna Loeckenhoff ◽  
Valerie Reyna
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Acquisition ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Trace Theory ◽  
Fuzzy Trace Theory

Abstract It is well-established that pre-decisional information seeking decreases with age (Mata & Nunes, 2010). However, it is still unknown whether age differences in information acquisition are influenced by the type of information provided. Fuzzy-trace theory suggests that decision makers prefer gist-based over verbatim-based processing, and that this preference increases across the lifespan. Therefore, we hypothesized that age differences arise when presenting participants with verbatim details (such as exact numbers) but not gist information (such as ”extremely poor” or “good”). In a lab-based experiment, 68 younger adults and 66 older adults completed a gist-based and a verbatim-based search task before making health insurance choices. Younger and older adults reviewed similar amounts of information in either condition. In line with Fuzzy-trace theory, however, older adults sought more information when presented with gist rather than verbatim information. The role of age-associated covariates and implications for decision-making will be discussed.

scholarly journals The effects of work centrality on active ageing among the older adults

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-584
Author(s):  
Songhwa Doo ◽  
JaeYoon Chang ◽  
Juil Rie
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Time Perspective ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Future Time Perspective ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Future Time ◽  
Work Centrality

This aimed to investigate the effect of work centrality during one’s entire career on the post-retirement adaptation(esp. active ageing) among older persons. Specifically, it was intended to study the mediating effect of generativity on the work centrality and active ageing and the moderating effect of future time perspective on the relationship between generativity and active ageing. By analysing the data from the retired older persons(55~70 yrs.), it was found in this study that generativity fully mediated the effect of work centrality on active ageing the following results. However, there was not significant moderating effect of future time perspective. These results did not support the role theory, but confirm the prediction based on the continuity theory which holds that older adults attempt to preserve and maintain existing internal and external structures and they prefer to accomplish this objective by using strategies tied to their past experiences.

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