Abstract
Older adults (OA) prefer positive over negative information in a lab setting, compared to young adults (YA; i.e., positivity effects). The extent to which OA avoid negative events or information relevant for their health and safety is not clear. We first investigated age differences in preferences for fear-enhancing vs. fear-reducing news articles during the Ebola Outbreak of 2014. We were able to collect data from 15 YA and 13 OA during this acute health event. Compared to YA, OA were more likely to read the fear-enhancing article, select hand-sanitizer over lip balm, and reported greater fear of Ebola. We further investigated our research question during the COVID-19 pandemic with 164 YA (18–30 years) and 171 OA (60–80 years). Participants responded to an online survey about the COVID-19 pandemic across 13 days during the initial peak of the pandemic in the United States (U.S.). Both YA and OA preferred to read positive over negative news about the coronavirus, but OA were even more likely than YA to prefer the positive news article. No age differences in the fear of contraction were found, but OA engaged in more health-protective behaviors compared to YA. Although OA may not always report greater fear than YA or seek out negative information related to a health concern, they still engage in protective health behaviors. Thus, although positivity effects were observed in attention and emotional reports (in the COVID-19 study), OA still modified their behaviors more than YA (giveaway in both studies, and health-protective behavior change in the COVID-19 study), suggesting that positivity effects did not hamper OA ability to respond to a health crisis.
Highlights
IntroductionFear is primarily associated with inhibition (e.g., withdrawal) or avoidance (e.g., fleeing) behaviors, which can provide health-protective features by elevating concerns for personal safety (De Gelder et al, 2004; Carver, 2006)
Few emotions exemplify evolutionary fitness as clearly as fear
This suggests that Older adults (OA) attended to the fear-enhancing material and selected a healthrelevant token more than young adults (YA), which aligned with our hypotheses
Summary
Fear is primarily associated with inhibition (e.g., withdrawal) or avoidance (e.g., fleeing) behaviors, which can provide health-protective features by elevating concerns for personal safety (De Gelder et al, 2004; Carver, 2006). This practical argument for the protective nature of fear forms the foundational crux of the negativity bias that has been documented extensively in young adults (YA) and children (Baumeister et al, 2001; Vaish et al, 2008; LoBue, 2009). Will age differences in attention to information regarding fearprovoking stimuli still be found in the context of a public health crisis such as a disease outbreak or pandemic?
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