Schryer Emily, Ross Michael
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2014 Jul;69(4):548-56. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbt047. Epub 2013 May 20.
Two studies examined the extent to which the age-related positivity effect in autobiographical recall is the result of age differences in appraisal and memory.
In Study 1, older and younger participants reported 1 pleasant and 1 unpleasant event for 5 days. Participants attempted to recall those events a week later. In Study 2, older and younger participants imagined that positive, negative, and neutral hypothetical events had occurred either to themselves or to an acquaintance and were later asked to recall those events.
In Study 1, younger adults reported a complete set of positive and negative events. Older adults reported a pleasant event each day, but 38% did not report an unpleasant event on at least 1 day. A week later, older and younger adults were equally likely to recall the events they had reported. In Study 2, older adults who imagined events happened to themselves rated events as more positive in valence than younger adults did. Older and younger adults were equally likely to remember pleasant and unpleasant events at the end of the study.
The data suggest that the age-related positivity effect resides in the appraisal rather than the recall of autobiographical events.
两项研究探讨了自传体回忆中与年龄相关的积极效应在多大程度上是评估和记忆方面年龄差异的结果。
在研究1中，年长和年轻参与者连续5天各报告1件愉快和1件不愉快的事件。一周后，参与者尝试回忆这些事件。在研究2中，年长和年轻参与者想象积极、消极和中性的假设事件发生在自己或熟人身上，随后被要求回忆这些事件。
在研究1中，年轻成年人报告了完整的积极和消极事件。年长成年人每天都报告一件愉快事件，但38%的人至少有一天未报告不愉快事件。一周后，年长和年轻成年人回忆所报告事件的可能性相同。在研究2中，想象事件发生在自己身上的年长成年人对事件的效价评价比年轻成年人更积极。在研究结束时，年长和年轻成年人记住愉快和不愉快事件的可能性相同。
数据表明，与年龄相关的积极效应存在于对自传体事件的评估而非回忆中。
