An Attentional Perspective on Successful Socioemotional Aging: Theory and Preliminary Evidence

Abstract

What are the information-processing mechanisms that underlie successful affect regulation across the life span? Recent evidence suggests a rather positive view of affect regulation into late life, and socioemotional selectivity theory has been proposed as a motivational account that may help explain these findings. In particular, the theory argues that emotions and their regulation become more salient as people age. After reviewing recent evidence primarily concerning emotional memory in late life, a theoretical rationale is presented for investigating the role of attention to emotional stimuli as a mechanism for understanding successful affect regulation across the adult life span. Then, a program of research using eye tracking to study these attentional processes is described, and initial results are presented suggesting that there may be both age and individual difference effects on attention to emotional stimuli in adulthood.