a Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences , University of Massachusetts , Amherst , MA , USA.
Aging Ment Health. 2018 Mar;22(3):421-429. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2016.1268092. Epub 2016 Dec 22.
Older adults report greater emotional well-being than younger persons, yet negative stereotypes about aging are pervasive. Little is known about age group perceptions of emotion in adulthood, particularly for familiar persons. Thus, this project determined perceptions of general affect in familiar younger and older adults.
In two studies, participants (Study 1, younger adult n = 123, older adult n = 43; Study 2, younger adult n = 34, midlife adult n = 41, older adult n = 16) provided self-report data about their affect in general, as well as reported on the affect of a familiar younger person (aged 18--34) and a familiar older person (aged 65 or older). Emotion scales assessed high- and low-arousal positive and negative affect.
Results suggest a less favorable perception of emotion experiences of older adults compared to younger adults. Specifically, participants of all age groups rated older adults as having lower positive emotions and higher negative emotions than is found in self-report data.
Perceptions of emotion in older adulthood reflect stereotypes of negative functioning. Older adult participants were not immune to holding negative views about older adults. Negative perceptions about emotion experiences in later life may be detrimental to the physical and mental health of older adults.
老年人比年轻人报告有更高的情绪幸福感，但对衰老的负面刻板印象普遍存在。对于成年人的情绪，特别是对于熟悉的人，人们对年龄组的看法知之甚少。因此，本项目确定了对熟悉的年轻和年长成年人的一般情绪的看法。
在两项研究中，参与者（研究 1：年轻成年人 n = 123，年长成年人 n = 43；研究 2：年轻成年人 n = 34，中年成年人 n = 41，年长成年人 n = 16）提供了关于他们一般情绪的自我报告数据，以及关于熟悉的年轻人和熟悉的老年人（年龄在 18-34 岁和 65 岁或以上）的情绪报告。情绪量表评估了高唤醒和低唤醒的积极和消极情绪。
结果表明，与年轻成年人相比，对年长成年人的情绪体验的看法较差。具体而言，所有年龄组的参与者都认为年长成年人的积极情绪较低，消极情绪较高，而这些情绪在自我报告数据中是找不到的。
对成年后期情绪的看法反映了对负面功能的刻板印象。年长的参与者自己也无法避免对年长成年人持有负面看法。对晚年情绪体验的负面看法可能对年长成年人的身心健康有害。
