TY - JOUR
T1 - Is there an age-related positivity effect in visual attention? A comparison of two methodologies
AU - Isaacowitz, Derek M.
AU - Wadlinger, Heather A.
AU - Goren, Deborah
AU - Wilson, Hugh R.
PY - 2006/8
Y1 - 2006/8
N2 - Research suggests a positivity effect in older adults' memory for emotional material, but the evidence from the attentional domain is mixed. The present study combined 2 methodologies for studying preferences in visual attention, eye tracking, and dot-probe, as younger and older adults viewed synthetic emotional faces. Eye tracking most consistently revealed a positivity effect in older adults' attention, so that older adults showed preferential looking toward happy faces and away from sad faces. Dot-probe results were less robust, but in the same direction. Methodological and theoretical implications for the study of socioemotional aging are discussed.
AB - Research suggests a positivity effect in older adults' memory for emotional material, but the evidence from the attentional domain is mixed. The present study combined 2 methodologies for studying preferences in visual attention, eye tracking, and dot-probe, as younger and older adults viewed synthetic emotional faces. Eye tracking most consistently revealed a positivity effect in older adults' attention, so that older adults showed preferential looking toward happy faces and away from sad faces. Dot-probe results were less robust, but in the same direction. Methodological and theoretical implications for the study of socioemotional aging are discussed.
KW - Aging
KW - Attention
KW - Positivity
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/33748300734
U2 - 10.1037/1528-3542.6.3.511
DO - 10.1037/1528-3542.6.3.511
M3 - Article
C2 - 16938091
AN - SCOPUS:33748300734
SN - 1528-3542
VL - 6
SP - 511
EP - 516
JO - Emotion
JF - Emotion
IS - 3
ER -