The role of affect in attentional functioning for younger and older adults.

Soo Rim Noh,Xiaodong Liu,Derek M Isaacowitz,Mary Jo Larcom

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00311

Soo Rim Noh, Xiaodong Liu + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00311

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Abstract

Although previous research has shown that positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) modulate attentional functioning in distinct ways, few studies have considered whether the links between affect and attentional functioning may vary as a function of age. Using the Attention Network Test (Fan et al., 2002), we tested whether participants’ current state of PA and NA influenced distinct attentional functions (i.e., alerting, orienting, and executive attention) and how the relationships between affective states and attentional functioning differ in younger (18–25 years) and older (60–85 years) age groups. While there were age differences in alerting efficiency, these age differences were mediated by PA, indicating that the higher state PA found in older adults may contribute to age differences in alerting. Furthermore, age group moderated the relationship between PA and orienting as well as NA and orienting. That is, higher levels of PA and lower levels of NA were associated with enhanced orienting efficiency in older adults. Neither PA nor NA had any influence on executive attention. The current results suggest that PA and NA may influence attentional functioning in distinct ways, but that these patterns may depend on age groups.

Highlights

According to Larsen (2000), affect is the evaluative “feeling tone associated with mood and emotion” that is “felt as good or bad, as pleasant or unpleasant, as a felt tendency to approach or avoid” (p. 130)
Few studies have examined how age-related differences in affective experience influence multiple aspects of attention, such as alerting, orienting, and executive attention (e.g., Posner and Petersen, 1990). This is a critical goal of the current study because emotional factors may differentially influence theses aspects of attention (e.g., Moriya and Tanno, 2009; Jiang et al, 2011), and as suggested by age-related differences in affective experience, this may vary by age (Phillips et al, 2002b)
For age differences in the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the older group scored significantly higher on the positive affect (PA) scale compared to the younger group, F (1, 143) = 16.25, p < 0.001, but scored lower on the negative affect (NA) scale, F (1, 143) = 6.81, p < 0.05

Summary

Introduction

According to Larsen (2000), affect is the evaluative “feeling tone associated with mood and emotion” that is “felt as good or bad, as pleasant or unpleasant, as a felt tendency to approach or avoid” (p. 130). Advancing age is associated with emotional well-being, characterized by more positive emotional experience (decreased NA and increased or continuing PA) than found among younger adults (e.g., Mroczek and Kolarz, 1998; Charles et al, 2001). This age-related emotional experience led researchers to investigate the link between emotional aging and selective attention to affective content (e.g., Carstensen and Mikels, 2005). Few studies have examined how age-related differences in affective experience influence multiple aspects of attention, such as alerting, orienting, and executive attention (e.g., Posner and Petersen, 1990). This is a critical goal of the current study because emotional factors may differentially influence theses aspects of attention (e.g., Moriya and Tanno, 2009; Jiang et al, 2011), and as suggested by age-related differences in affective experience, this may vary by age (Phillips et al, 2002b)

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