Centre for Policy on Ageing



Experienced and remembered emotional intensity in older adults
Author(s)	Linda J Levine, Susan Bluck
Journal title	Psychology and Aging, vol 12, no 3, September 1997
Pages	pp 514-523
Keywords	Emotions ; Adjustment ; Memory and Reminiscence ; Elections ; Social surveys ; United States of America.
Annotation	The authors examined the emotional responses and coping strategies of 227 of Ross Perot's supporters after his withdrawal from the presidential race in 1992, by recalling their emotional reactions once the election had taken place. In contrast to claims that subjective emotional intensity decreases with age, older adults initially reported feeling just as sad, angry and hopeful as middle-aged and younger adults. However, older adults were more likely than middle-aged and younger adults to disengage from thwarted political goals. For those who maintained their original goal, memory for the intensity of past feelings of sadness decreased with age. These findings suggest that age differences in response to survey questions about emotional intensity may reflect changes in memory for past emotions and changes in coping strategies, rather than the intensity of the older adults' emotional experience as it occurred.
Accession Number	CPA-971120278 A
Classmark	DL: DR: DB: VLE: 3F: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.