Wrzus Cornelia, Müller Viktor, Wagner Gert G, Lindenberger Ulman, Riediger Michaela
Max Planck Institute for Human Development.
German Institute for Economic Research.
Psychol Aging. 2014 Sep;29(3):563-76. doi: 10.1037/a0037451.
We propose that a comprehensive understanding of age differences in affective responses to emotional situations requires the distinction of 2 components of affect dynamics: reactivity, the deviation from a person's baseline, and recovery, the return to this baseline. The present study demonstrates the utility of this approach with a focus on age differences in responses of negative affect and heart rate to an unpleasant emotional situation in 92 participants aged 14 to 83. The emotional situation was elicited with a social-cognitive stress task. Participants' negative affect and heart rate were measured throughout the task. Results showed that heart rate reactivity decreased, but heart rate recovery time increased, with age. In contrast, no significant age differences were observed in either reactivity or recovery for negative affect. These findings confirm that reactivity to, and recovery from, unpleasant emotional situations are distinct components of affect dynamics. They underscore the multidirectional nature of age differences in affective processes.
我们认为，要全面理解对情绪情境的情感反应中的年龄差异，需要区分情感动态的两个组成部分：反应性，即偏离个人基线的程度；恢复性，即回到该基线的过程。本研究通过关注92名年龄在14至83岁之间的参与者在面对不愉快情绪情境时负面情绪和心率反应的年龄差异，证明了这种方法的实用性。情绪情境通过社会认知应激任务诱发。在整个任务过程中测量参与者的负面情绪和心率。结果表明，随着年龄增长，心率反应性降低，但心率恢复时间增加。相比之下，在负面情绪的反应性或恢复性方面均未观察到显著的年龄差异。这些发现证实，对不愉快情绪情境的反应性和恢复性是情感动态的不同组成部分。它们强调了情感过程中年龄差异的多向性。
