Younger and older adults' beliefs about the experience and expression of emotions across the life span.

OBJECTIVES

Although theorists acknowledge that beliefs about emotions may play a role in age-related emotion behavior, no research has explored these beliefs. This research examined beliefs about the experience and expression of emotions across the life span, especially across the adult years.

METHODS

Younger and older adults rated the extent to which infants, children, adolescents, young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults were likely to experience and express a range of emotions.

RESULTS

Younger and older adults held similar beliefs about the course of emotions across the life span. Moreover, these beliefs differed across emotion categories. In particular, although older adults were believed to experience and express fewer highly charged, negative emotions, they were expected to be more likely to experience and express positive, low arousal emotions, as well as negative, low arousal emotions. The experience and expression of positive, high arousal emotions were seen as more characteristic of very young age groups as opposed to older age groups.

DISCUSSION

These findings beg questions about if and how beliefs about emotion may affect age-related emotion regulation strategies and other everyday emotion-focused behaviors, as well as social reactions to older adults observed experiencing and expressing particular types of emotions.