Relative to younger adults, older adults attend to and remember positive information more than negative information. This shift from a negativity bias in younger age to a preference for positive information in later life is termed the ‘positivity effect.’ Based on nearly two decades of research and recent evidence from neuroscience, we argue that the effect reflects age-related changes in motivation that direct behavior and cognitive processing rather than neural or cognitive decline. Understanding the positivity effect, including conditions that reduce and enhance it, can inform effective public health and educational messages directed at older people.

中文翻译：

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积极效应：年轻人的消极偏见随着年龄的增长而消失。

相对于年轻人，老年人更容易关注和记住积极的信息而不是消极的信息。这种从年轻时的消极偏见到晚年对积极信息的偏好的转变被称为“积极效应”。基于近二十年的研究和神经科学的最新证据，我们认为这种效应反映了与年龄相关的动机变化，这些变化指导行为和认知处理，而不是神经或认知衰退。了解积极效应，包括减少和增强积极效应的条件，可以为针对老年人的有效公共卫生和教育信息提供信息。