Emotion Judgments in Older and Younger Adults: Assessing Contributions of on-Line Experience, Recall, and Self-Concept

Age differences in memory performance and emotional wisdom suggest that younger and older adults differentially use emotions and the self to guide emotion judgments. Older adults (N=92) and younger adults (N=80) first completed experience sampling of emotions for one week. Then participants completed measures of memory for emotion frequency and satisfaction with the week of experience sampling immediately after the week, and after a two-week delay. Older adults reported fewer negative emotions and better memory accuracy for negative emotions. These results are partially accounted for by emotional awareness and mood variability. Older adults experienced and remembered differentially more alone situations than younger adults. Regression analyses revealed that the proposed model for emotion judgments was well supported, and age differences only emerged for negative emotions. It was concluded that expectations for emotions predicted emotional experience and memory for emotion. Satisfaction was predicted best by memory for emotions, as compared with actual experience, and negative emotion memory predicted satisfaction better than positive emotion memory. These results partially support emotional wisdom theories of the use of emotions.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Bucknam, Daniel

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ed Diener

• Psychology, Developmental

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3223551

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/82105