ABSTRACT

Older adults are motivated to maximize positive affect in the present. Young adults will purposely feel negative and high arousal emotions in order to achieve a goal. However, this type of contra-hedonic emotional alignment has not been extensively studied with older adults. We expected older adults are less likely than young adults to select high arousal and negative emotions within specific scenarios where those states could be useful. In two studies, participants selected the emotion they preferred in hypothetical problems that varied on the arousal and valence best suited for goal achievement. Young and older adults were equally likely to endorse affective strategies that matched both pro and contra-hedonic scenarios. While older adults may be generally motivated to avoid negative and high-arousing emotions, they are just as likely as young adults to indicate that these states could be helpful in certain situations.

摘要

老年人有动力在当下最大限度地发挥积极影响。年轻人会故意感到消极和高唤醒情绪，以实现目标。然而，这种类型的反享乐情绪调整尚未在老年人中进行广泛研究。我们预计老年人在这些状态可能有用的特定场景中选择高唤醒和负面情绪的可能性低于年轻人。在两项研究中，参与者在假设问题中选择了他们喜欢的情绪，这些问题在最适合目标实现的唤醒和效价上有所不同。年轻人和老年人同样有可能赞同与赞成和反对快感情景相匹配的情感策略。虽然老年人通常可能有动机避免消极和高唤起的情绪，