2023-12-04 ワシントン大学セントルイス校
◆研究では、若者はタスク以外のことを考えやすい傾向があり、その際はネガティブな思いに囚われることが多かった一方で、高齢者はネガティブな思いに気を取られにくかったと報告されています。この発見は、年をとるにつれて心の中心が変わり、高齢者がタスクに専念しやすくなることを示唆しています。
<関連情報>
- https://source.wustl.edu/2023/12/eternal-sunshine-of-the-aging-mind/
- https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/geronb/gbad151/7303272
心の迷いにおける年齢差: 感情価の役割 Age-Related Differences in Mind Wandering: The Role of Emotional Valence
Matthew S Welhaf,Jonathan B Banks,Julie M Bugg
The Journals of Gerontology: Series B Published:09 October 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbad151
Abstract
Objectives
Older adults consistently report fewer experiences of mind wandering compared to younger adults. Aging is also associated with a shift in the emotional focus of our thoughts, with older adults tending to experience an increase in attention toward positive information, or a “positivity bias,” relative to younger adults. Here, we tested if the positivity bias associated with aging can also predict age-related changes in the content of older adults’ mind wandering.
Method
Older adults and younger adults completed a go/no-go task with periodic thought probes to assess rates of emotionally valenced mind wandering.
Results
Older adults reported significantly less negatively and neutrally valenced mind wandering compared to younger adults, but there was no age difference in reports of positively valenced mind wandering. Overall rates of mind wandering predicted poorer task performance for both age groups: Individuals who mind wandered more, performed worse, but this did not differ by the emotional valence. Both older adults and younger adults showed similar in-the-moment performance deficits, with mind wandering reports being associated with worse immediate no-go accuracy and faster reaction times, consistent with mindless responding.
Discussion
Focusing on different dimensions of thought content, such as emotional valence, can provide new insight into age-related differences in mind wandering. Older adults’ mind wandering reports were less negative and neutral compared to younger adults’ reports suggesting a positivity bias for older adults. However, this positivity bias does not seem to affect task performance. We discuss the implications of the findings for mind wandering theories and the positivity bias.
