Psychology and Aging最新文献

Cognition is a dynamic process and is subject to substantial variation across short and long timescales. It is becoming common to assess cognition repeatedly over short intervals to determine the correlates and consequences of such "cognitive variability." A high-frequency cognitive assessment approach is also an ideal method for measuring how cognition operates in daily life. Nevertheless, several fundamental questions regarding the nature of cognitive variability remain unanswered. We utilize data from the COGITO study, which administered nine separate cognitive tests to more than 200 participants for 100 days to answer the following questions: Do different tasks exhibit similarly reliable levels of variability, and does variability cluster into distinct cognitive domains? This rich data set was analyzed using Bayesian mixed-effects location scale models which simultaneously estimate individual means and variability. All nine tasks exhibited significant variability across the 100 days of testing. Tasks within the domains of episodic memory or processing speed were moderately correlated with each other suggesting some degree of domain specificity. Working memory tasks, on the other hand, did not correlate well with each other suggesting variability in these tasks is dominated by momentary or task-specific influences. These findings not only advance our theoretical understanding of what cognitive variability is but also provide insight into which cognitive tests are most suitable for high-frequency administration and thus may be most amenable to use for studying aging and cognitive processes as they occur in daily life. Appropriate limits on the generalizability of our results are noted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Negative experiences in daily life are related to feeling older, but the role of daily positive experiences for subjective age has rarely been investigated. Furthermore, the directionality of the relation between subjective age and daily experiences remains unclear. We thus investigated the dynamic interplay of daily subjective age and both daily stressors and uplifts. We hypothesized that the experience of daily stressors would be related to an older subjective age and daily uplifts to a younger subjective age. We also predicted reciprocal relations of stressors/uplifts and subjective age across days and addressed these questions using both a single item and a multidimensional operationalization of subjective age, asking about felt age in different domains. We used data from a daily diary study including N = 69 participants aged 52-75 years (M_age = 62.72, SD = 5.57, 58% women) who reported on their subjective age, daily stressors, and uplift experiences on 14 consecutive days. Dynamic structural equation models showed a differentiated picture: More uplifts were related to a younger subjective age within and between persons. Reporting more uplifts than usual on a given day predicted a younger subjective age than usual on the next day and vice versa, albeit the latter effect was only significant for the multidimensional operationalization. Surprisingly, stressors were unrelated to subjective age. The findings emphasize the importance of uplifts for daily aging experiences and provide empirical evidence for the conceptualization of subjective age as both a product and a driver of daily experiences in later life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

A significant body of research exists regarding the benefits of engaging in prosocial behaviors for older adults. However, less is understood about how prosocial behaviors are associated with the subjective experience and evaluation of successful aging in situ. Successful aging refers to a developmental process characterized by the achievement and maintenance of good health, high functioning, social engagement, and positive well-being. This study explored the relationship between prosocial engagement and subjective successful aging at the momentary level. The ebbs and flows of prosocial activity in daily life may carry costs and benefits at different times, especially among older adults who dedicate significant time and effort to prosocial avenues. A purposive sample of 165 older high-commitment volunteers and social innovators (M_age = 71.13, SD = 5.70) participated in a 7-day experience sampling study, responding to surveys at six random times per day. Results revealed that past-hour prosocial engagement was positively associated with both moment-level and person-level subjective successful aging indicators. These findings support an experiential, less static perspective on successful aging, highlighting how everyday prosocial actions are associated with older adults' momentary perceptions of aging well. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

This study examines whether social interactions in different modalities buffer the effects of poor self-reported health on well-being in older adults. We apply multilevel models to experience sampling data including daily assessments of health, frequency of social interactions (face-to-face, telephone, and digital text-based) and well-being (positive and negative affect, loneliness) from 118 older adults (M_age = 71.75; SD_age = 5.05). Between subjects, fewer health complaints were associated with higher well-being. Within-subjects, well-being was higher on days when subjects reported better health and fewer health complaints than their average. The findings regarding the buffering effects were inconsistent: In line with our hypothesis, on days with more face-to-face interactions, the effect of daily self-reported health on loneliness was smaller. Similarly, on days with more telephone interactions, the effects of daily self-reported health on positive affect and loneliness were smaller. Furthermore, for participants who experienced more telephone calls than others, the effect of overall health complaints on negative affect and loneliness was smaller. For participants who experienced more digital text-based social interactions than others, the effect of overall health complaints on positive affect and the effect of self-reported health on loneliness were weaker. Follow-up analyses that examined the pleasantness of social interaction as a buffering factor show that pleasantness did not buffer adverse effects of poor health on well-being more consistently than the frequency of social interactions did. Taken together, our findings show that poor health is a risk factor for well-being and social interactions in different modalities might partially buffer those adverse effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

To better understand age-related processes tied to well-being, the current work explores how fluctuations in well-being in daily life differ based on age and various well-being domains. Additionally, this research investigates whether the magnitude of concurrent within-person changes in well-being domains varies based on age. Accordingly, the present study called upon daily diary data from two age-diverse samples: a young adult sample (N = 144; age: M = 19.56, SD = 2.09, range = 17-28) and older adult sample (N = 81; age: M = 69.04, SD = 9.06, range = 55-94). Mixed effect location scale models suggested that older adults on average scored higher than young adults on daily self-acceptance, engagement, sense of purpose, autonomy, competence, personal growth, relatedness, vitality, and positive affect; scored lower on negative affect; and did not score differently on life satisfaction. Meanwhile, young adults experienced more daily within-person variability in all 11 well-being domains. Finally, multigroup, multilevel structural equation models showed that, at the between-person level, negative affect was more strongly tied to other well-being domains in young adults, while positive affect and vitality were more strongly tied to other well-being domains in older adults. At the within-person level, changes in one daily well-being domain were more strongly associated with changes in another 65% of the time for young adults and 33% of the time for older adults. The present study highlights differences in daily well-being processes tied to age and the larger role that daily events and experiences may play in shaping the short-term experiences of well-being in young adults' daily lives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Although aging is associated with changes in cognitive functioning, older adults can show an intact ability to remember information that they are curious to know about. Some research suggests that older adults may exhibit greater states of curiosity during laboratory tasks compared to younger adults, as larger semantic networks characteristic of older age (e.g., more prior knowledge) may support learning and motivation. Still, what exactly constitutes prior knowledge remains ambiguous, raising the question of whether curiosity may be the outcome of an inferential appraisal whereby one estimates the number of answer candidates in their search space. In two experiments, younger and older adults saw a series of trivia questions, reported how many answer candidates were accessible, and rated their confidence and curiosity to learn the correct answer. We found that older adults were more likely to endorse having one answer candidate, but the presence of multiple (e.g., two, three, or more) answer candidates was associated with high states of curiosity and low confidence across both age groups. Therefore, observed age-related differences in state curiosity may stem less from differences in search space and more from a general motivation to learn. Overall, while curiosity may manifest differently across the lifespan, subjective semantic search space as an inferred estimate of prior knowledge appears to be a reliable predictor of one's desire to learn among younger and older adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Sedentary behavior is a modifiable lifestyle factor associated with health and well-being among older adults. Self-report and device-based measures are commonly used to assess this behavior, but the agreement between the two approaches varies considerably. To better understand the role of cognitive function in discrepancies between measures of sedentary behavior among older adults, we conducted a secondary analysis to examine the cross-sectional association between cognitive function and the agreement between self-report and device-measured sedentary behavior in 257 participants (M_age = 78.9 years) from the Wave 4 of Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. Participants completed 13 cognitive tests assessing general cognitive function, crystallized ability, visuospatial ability, verbal memory, and processing speed. They also completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire to self-report sedentary behavior and wore activPAL accelerometers on their thighs to record total sedentary time. We found that the agreement between the two measures was weak. Poorer cognitive function (general and all four cognitive domains) was significantly associated with poorer agreement, evidenced by larger difference scores in regression models adjusted for activPAL-measured sedentary behavior, sex, age, body mass index, and self-rated health. Our results add to the previous literature by suggesting that cognitive function may affect the accuracy of self-report sedentary behavior among older adults compared with activPAL, highlighting the importance of considering cognitive function when selecting sedentary behavior measures and interpreting findings in aging populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

What social repercussions do older adults expect to experience if they learn they are at heightened genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD)? We compared these individuals' hypothetical expectations to the actual experiences of AD stigma reported by those who knew their apolipoprotein E (APOE) ϵ4 genotype, a key genetic risk factor for AD dementia. As part of a multisession study, participants aged 60-85 completed a 23-item modified Social Impact Scale to assess AD stigma. At Time 1, participants who knew their APOE genotype were divided into two experiential groups: APOE ϵ4 carriers (n = 65) and ϵ4 noncarriers (n = 46). Experiential group participants reported their experiences of stigma. Participants unaware of their APOE genotype (n = 180) formed the hypothetical group and reported the level of stigma they expected if they were to learn they had an elevated risk for AD. Results showed that expected stigma was significantly greater than experienced stigma. At Time 1, mean agreement with modified Social Impact Scale statements was 26.1% in the hypothetical group compared with only 2.3% in the ϵ4 carrier experiential group. The largest expectation-experience gaps concerned competence and social belonging. These findings suggest that older adults overestimate the social consequences of learning they are at genetic risk for AD. Theoretically, the results add to our understanding of the disability paradox, which refers to outsiders predicting worse life outcomes for people with chronic conditions than those individuals report themselves. Our findings show similar mispredictions occur even in the absence of symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Population aging has made cognitive decline a growing public health challenge. Theories of cognitive aging highlight executive functions (EFs), particularly updating and inhibition, as central to cognitive decline. This study examined whether strengthening EFs can improve working memory, fluid reasoning, and everyday problem solving and which factors predict training outcomes. A total of 120 participants (M = 70.30, SD = 5.84) were randomly assigned to one of four groups: updating, inhibition, combined training, or an active control group (communication skills). Participants completed 20 home-based training sessions (three 25-min sessions per week) and seven assessment sessions (pretest, posttest, and 6-month follow-up), which included sociodemographics, updating (n-back, Memory Updating), inhibition (Picture-Word, Stroop), working memory (Operation Span task), fluid reasoning (Standard Progressive Matrices), and everyday problem-solving tasks (Everyday Problem Test). Bayesian repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated improvements on n-back tasks accuracy for the updating, inhibition, and combined groups and improvement in the n-back reaction time for combined and inhibition groups. Mixed-effects modeling revealed that age, education level, and baseline n-back performance predicted initial success in updating training, while baseline Picture-Word scores predicted initial success in inhibition training. Group membership predicted the rate of progress in inhibition training. Overall, findings suggest limited transfer effects from EF training to untrained domains and emphasize the role of individual characteristics and task-specific factors in determining training success. The study contributes to a more cautious understanding of EF training, demonstrating modest gains specific to certain EF components and identifying key individual and task-related predictors of training outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Research has shown that older adults who rate their health and energy more positively have better health outcomes. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship have not been formally tested, especially in a long-term longitudinal, full adult lifespan sample. We used data from the Midlife in the United States study to investigate whether outlooks regarding one's health and energy assessed at Wave 1 would be associated with health outcomes (health limitations, chronic conditions) 20 years later at Wave 3. At Wave 1, participants were asked to rate their past (10 years prior) and future (10 years hence) health and energy on a scale from 0 to 10. To determine outlook, we computed a difference score by subtracting participants' past rating from their future rating. We found that health and energy outlook was negatively associated with residual change in health at Wave 3, such that those with more positive outlooks experienced fewer increases in health limitations over time. Participant age and sex did not interact with this relationship, but education did, suggesting a positive health outlook may be more important for those with lower levels of education. Mediation analysis revealed that positive health behaviors (more frequent physical activity, less smoking) partially mediated the relationship between positive outlook and better health outcomes. Finally, a positive energy outlook was associated with a 6% decrease in mortality risk before accounting for baseline health. We discuss factors that appear to underlie the relationship between health/energy outlook and future health outcomes and consider implications for interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).