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The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences Advance Access originally published online on March 11, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 2009 64B(2):188-192; doi:10.1093/geronb/gbn036
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

The Time Course of Age-Related Preferences Toward Positive and Negative Stimuli

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

Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts

Address correspondence to Derek M. Isaacowitz, PhD, Department of Psychology and Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, 415 South Street MS 062, Waltham, MA 02454-9110. Email: dmi{at}brandeis.edu


  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.

Key Words: Cognitive control • Eye tracking • Positivity

Received February 26, 2008; Accepted September 28, 2008

Decision Editor: Elizabeth A.L. Stine-Morrow, PhD


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