Emotion, Aging, and Decision Making

项目总结/摘要 我们每天都在做出重要的健康决定--比如是否锻炼--这些决定会影响健康 结果，从我们的身体到心理和认知健康。这样的决定变得更加 随着我们年龄的增长，考虑到晚年生活中的脆弱性增加，包括痴呆症的风险（例如， 阿尔茨海默病）。根据记录老年人体力活动减少的证据， 我们能在晚年促进健康的决策吗？拟议的项目侧重于社会情感方面 决策，这可能会成为特别有影响力的老年人，因为记录在案的 动机转向积极性和有社会意义的目标。我们以前的工作已经证明， 积极的情感在鼓励老年人锻炼方面起着关键作用。与此相关，我们发现， 成年人更受社会目标的激励，而年轻人更受社会目标的激励。 工具性目标。从证据中得出积极的影响对精神和身体特别有益 当社会共享时，拟议的工作将研究共享的积极影响如何影响健康- 相关的决定和行为。最后，现有证据表明，尽管老年人通常受益于 从心理，身体和认知健康方面的锻炼来看，痴呆症的遗传风险会调节健康状况。 锻炼的好处，这将在本项目中考虑。这项研究是创新的，在其（a）翻译 应用情感、认知和衰老理论和研究的见解来理解前因 以及年轻人和老年人运动决策的后果，（B）两者的概念化， 社会和情感方面的决策，（c）开发一种新的方法， 结合社会影响，和（d）对运动健康联系的影响的新评估。的 拟议中的研究将检查在健康中起作用的潜在情感和社会机制。 决定和行为。具体而言，本研究将：（1）建立一个了解如何社会和 情绪过程有助于健康相关决策的年龄差异，（2）决定社会如何 和情感因素影响运动参与，坚持和维护，（3）探索如何共享 积极的影响和痴呆症的遗传风险可能会影响运动对老年人健康益处的影响。 成年人了这些目标将通过实验室实验、实地研究和干预研究来实现。通过 为了实现这些目标，这个项目有望增加我们对社会和情感作用的理解。 在老年人和年轻人的健康相关决策过程，并更好地告知处方 关于如何最好地激励健康行为的建议。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Every day we make important health decisions – such as whether to exercise or not – that impact health outcomes, from our physical to mental and cognitive health. Such decisions become all the more consequential as we age, given increased vulnerabilities in later life including risk for dementia (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease). In light of evidence documenting decreased physical activity with advanced age, how can we promote healthy decision making in late life? The proposed project focuses on socioemotional aspects of decision making, which may become particularly influential for older adults because of documented motivational shifts toward positivity and socially meaningful goals. Our previous work has demonstrated that positive affect plays a critical role in encouraging older adults to exercise. Relatedly, we have found that older adults are more motivated by social goals to exercise, whereas younger adults are more motivated by instrumental goals. Drawing from evidence that positive affect is particularly beneficial to mental and physical health when socially shared, the proposed work will examine how shared positive affect may influence health- related decisions and behavior. Finally, existing evidence indicates that although older adults generally benefit from exercise in terms of mental, physical, and cognitive health, genetic risk for dementia moderates the health benefits of exercise, which will be considered in this project. This research is innovative in its (a) translational application of insights from affective, cognitive, and aging theory and research to understand the antecedents and consequences of exercise decision making in younger and older adults, (b) conceptualization of both the social and emotional aspects of decision making, (c) development of a novel method for message framing that incorporates social influences, and (d) novel assessments of influences on the exercise-health link. The proposed research will examine the underlying affective and social mechanisms that play a role in health decisions and behavior. Specifically, this research will: (1) establish an understanding of how social and emotional processes contribute to age differences in health-related decision making, (2) determine how social and emotional factors impact exercise engagement, adherence, and maintenance, and (3) probe how shared positive affect and genetic risk for dementia may influence the effects of exercise on the health benefits in older adults. These aims will be met through laboratory experiments, field studies, and intervention studies. By pursuing these aims, this project promises to increase our understanding of the role of social and emotional processes in health-related decision making in older and younger adult, and to better inform prescriptive recommendations for how to best motivate healthy behaviors.