scholarly journals Age Differences in State Curiosity: Examining the Role of Personal Relevance

Gerontology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Li Chu ◽  
Helene H. Fung

<b><i>Objectives:</i></b> Curiosity, or the desire for novel information and/or experience, is associated with improved well-being and more informed decisions, which has implications on older adults’ (OAs’) adoption of novel technologies. There have been suggestions that curiosity tends to decline with age. However, it was rarely studied under specific contexts, and there were relatively limited attempts to enhance OAs’ curiosity. Under the theoretical framework of selective engagement theory, we examined age differences of curiosity in the context of learning a novel technology and investigated the moderating role of personal relevance. <b><i>Method:</i></b> This study utilized a pretest-posttest experimental design with a total of 50 younger adults (YAs) and 50 OAs from Hong Kong to measure their trait curiosity, perceived personal relevance, and state curiosity toward robots after interacting with a robot. <b><i>Results:</i></b> OAs showed significantly lower trait curiosity than YAs, but OAs showed a higher level of state curiosity toward a robot than YAs when they perceived an increase in personal relevance after interacting with the robot. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Findings replicated previous findings that trait curiosity declined with age, but they also illustrated the distinctions between trait and state curiosity in the context of aging and highlighted the potential role of personal relevance in enhancing curiosity of OAs.

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efstratia Arampatzi ◽  
Martijn J. Burger ◽  
Spyridon Stavropoulos ◽  
Frank G. van Oort

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S785-S785
Author(s):  
Tze Kiu Wong ◽  
Helene H Fung

Abstract Previous studies usually found that older people are less politically engaged than younger adults, especially when considering political behavior other than voting. The current study extends the Selective Engagement hypothesis (Hess, 2014) to political engagement. 81 younger adults and 79 older adults rated 8 issues on self-relevance and their willingness to engage in political discussion, arguments and collective action on each issue. The predicted moderating effect of self-relevance was not found, but older people indeed are more willing to discuss (B = 0.07, p = 0.027) and argue with others on more self-relevant issues (B = 0.06, p = 0.031). Perceived cost of collective action was found to be a moderator, such that self-relevance was less important than other factors for high-cost actions (B = -0.016, p = 0.013). The current research sheds light on potential ways to increase older adults’ engagement in social issues.


2009 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 500-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Bin Chiou ◽  
Ming-Hsu Chang ◽  
Chien-Lung Chen

Raghunathan and Pham conducted a pioneer study in 1999 on the motivational influences of anxiety and sadness on decision making and indicated that anxiety would motivate individuals to be risk averse, whereas sadness would motivate individuals to be risk taking. A replication study was employed in the domain of perceived travel risk. Compared to participants in a neutral mood, anxious participants showed higher perceived travel risk than sad participants. Moreover, the differential effect of anxiety and sadness on perceived travel risk was only pronounced under the high personal relevance condition, in which participants made personal decisions and expected that they would be affected by the outcomes. In general, the results extend the notion proposed by Raghunathan and Pham suggesting that travelers' implicit goals primed by anxiety or sadness used for mood-repair purposes appear to be moderated by personal relevance.


Author(s):  
Andree Hartanto ◽  
Verity Y.Q. Lua ◽  
Frosch Y.X. Quek ◽  
Jose C. Yong ◽  
Matthew H.S. Ng

Author(s):  
Quan Gao ◽  
Orlando Woods ◽  
Xiaomei Cai

This paper explores how the intersection of masculinity and religion shapes workplace well-being by focusing on Christianity and the social construction of masculinity among factory workers in a city in China. While existing work on public and occupational health has respectively acknowledged masculinity’s influences on health and the religious and spiritual dimensions of well-being, there have been limited efforts to examine how variegated, and especially religious, masculinities influence people’s well-being in the workplace. Drawing on ethnography and in-depth interviews with 52 factory workers and 8 church leaders and factory managers, we found that: (1) Variegated masculinities were integrated into the factory labor regime to produce docile and productive bodies of workers. In particular, the militarized and masculine cultures in China’s factories largely deprived workers of their dignity and undermined their well-being. These toxic masculinities were associated with workers’ depression and suicidal behavior. (2) Christianity not only provided social and spiritual support for vulnerable factory workers, but also enabled them to construct a morally superior Christian manhood that phytologically empowered them and enhanced their resilience to exploitation. This paper highlights not only the gender mechanism of well-being, but also the ways religion mediates the social-psychological construction of masculinity.


2016 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Rosopa ◽  
Jesus Alfonso D. Datu ◽  
Stephen A. Robertson ◽  
Theresa P. Atkinson

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrien Bohets ◽  
Hans De Witte

Does coping affect (the relationship between) job insecurity, well-being and job satisfaction? Does coping affect (the relationship between) job insecurity, well-being and job satisfaction? Katrien Bohets & Hans De Witte, Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 19, Juni 2006, nr. 2, pp. 113. The consequences of both quantitative and qualitative job insecurity on well-being and job satisfaction are analysed. Quantitative job insecurity refers to the continuity of the actual job, whereas qualitative job insecurity refers to the continuity of valued job characteristics. The association of both kinds of insecurity with emotion-focused coping (avoidance) is studied, as well as the moderating role of problem-focused coping in the relation between job insecurity, satisfaction and well-being. Data of 568 employees from 23 companies are used to test the hypotheses. The results show that both forms of job insecurity are associated with a decrease in well-being and job satisfaction, as expected. Job insecurity is also associated with an increase in avoidance behaviours (emotion-focused coping) and with a decrease in problem-focused coping behaviours. Problem-focused coping (and avoidance) do not moderate the relationship between job insecurity, satisfaction and well-being.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document