The time course of age-related preferences toward positive and negative stimuli

  • Derek M. Isaacowitz
  • , Eric S. Allard
  • , Nora A. Murphy
  • , Mark Schlangel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

When and why do older adults show positive preferences in their gaze patterns, looking preferentially toward positive and away from some negative stimuli? The current study investigated the time course of older adults' preferential fixation toward positive (happy) stimuli and away from negative (angry) stimuli to discern whether such patterns are more consistent with cognitive control or with simplified processing accounts of their origins. Positive preferences in older adults were found to emerge only 500 ms and later after stimulus onset and increased linearly over time; this time course is consistent with a cognitive control account.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)188-192
Number of pages5
JournalJournals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
Volume64
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2009

Keywords

  • Cognitive control
  • Eye tracking
  • Positivity

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