Meinhardt-Injac Bozana, Altvater-Mackensen Nicole, Mohs Alexandra, Goulet-Pelletier Jean-Christophe, Boutet Isabelle
Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Applied Sciences Berlin (KHSB), 10318 Berlin, Germany.
School of Humanities, University of Mannheim, 68161 Mannheim, Germany.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 Mar 4;15(3):302. doi: 10.3390/bs15030302.
Age-related differences in emotion recognition are well-documented in older adults aged 65 and above, with stimulus valence and the age of the model being key influencing factors. This study examined these variables across three experiments using a novel set of images depicting younger and older models expressing positive and negative emotions (e.g., happy vs. sad; interested vs. bored). Experiment 1 focused on valence-arousal dimensions, Experiment 2 on emotion recognition accuracy, and Experiment 3 on visual fixation patterns. Age-related differences were found in emotion recognition. No significant age-related differences in gaze behavior were found; both age groups looked more at the eye region. The positivity effect-older adults' tendency to prioritize positive over negative information-did not consistently manifest in recognition performance or scanning patterns. However, older adults evaluated positive emotions differently than negative emotions, rating negative facial expressions as less negative and positive emotions as more arousing compared to younger adults. Finally, emotions portrayed by younger models were rated as more intense and more positive than those portrayed by older adults by both older and younger adults. We conclude that the positivity effect and own-age bias may be more complex and nuanced than previously thought.
65岁及以上老年人在情绪识别方面的年龄差异已有充分记录，刺激效价和模型年龄是关键影响因素。本研究通过三个实验，使用一组描绘年轻和年长模型表达积极和消极情绪（如快乐与悲伤；感兴趣与无聊）的新颖图像，对这些变量进行了研究。实验1聚焦于效价-唤醒维度，实验2关注情绪识别准确性，实验3研究视觉注视模式。研究发现了情绪识别方面的年龄差异。未发现注视行为上与年龄相关的显著差异；两个年龄组都更多地注视眼部区域。积极效应——老年人倾向于优先处理积极信息而非消极信息——在识别表现或扫描模式中并未始终显现。然而，与年轻人相比，老年人对积极情绪和消极情绪的评价不同，他们将负面面部表情评为不那么负面，而将积极情绪评为更具唤醒性。最后，无论是老年人还是年轻人，都认为年轻模型所描绘的情绪比年长模型所描绘的情绪更强烈、更积极。我们得出结论，积极效应和自身年龄偏差可能比之前认为的更为复杂和微妙。
