Socioemotional Functioning in Adulthood and Old Age

 描述（由申请人提供）：拟议研究的前提是，老年人拥有相当大的未开发的潜力，与他们的情绪平衡和对有意义的活动的偏好有关。经验证据表明，有机会从事有意义的工作（有酬或无酬）对老年人可能特别有激励作用，老年人可能特别适合从事需要社交和情感技能的工作。此外，从事有意义的工作与老年人相对较低的身体活动水平的增加有关。因此，通过挖掘有意义参与的偏好来激励活动，有可能改善老年人以及所服务的广大公众的健康和福祉。该研究以社会情绪选择理论为指导，该理论认为，不断变化的时间视野会导致动机和情绪的系统性年龄差异。具体来说，当时间视野广阔时，人们有动力去探索和学习。当时间范围受到限制时，人们会优先考虑情感上有意义的体验。在过去的二十年里，社会情绪选择性理论已经在基础实证研究中得到了广泛的检验和验证;现在有一个很好的机会将该理论应用于实验室之外的日常领域。我们提出了一系列的研究，探讨假设和测试假设的方式，积极的变化，情绪体验和情感目标的优先级可以提高行为的做法和表现在三个领域：工作场所的生产力，体力活动和志愿者活动。我们追求三大目标。目的我测试的假设（a）年龄差异的工作偏好和感知的时间范围的作用，（B）在工作中的行为和情感体验的年龄差异的比较，（c）探索性研究，使用公司层面的数据，以揭示在当前的管理实践中可能被忽视的老年工人的贡献。目的二测试的假设，老年人更喜欢的身体活动框架的情感意义比指定为运动的活动，情感上有意义的激励措施是最有效的，在老年人增加步行。目标III应用相同的理论方法来优化接近退休年龄的老年志愿者的招募和保留。通过在这些创新和应用方向上扩展研究计划，我们以新颖的方式扩展了理论，可以帮助完善研究的概念基础，并确定改善公共卫生的潜在方法。本次更新申请中提出的研究将产生很大的影响，因为我们在私人和政府组织中的研究合作伙伴有能力大规模实施经过验证的方法。合作伙伴包括圣克拉拉县的公民领导层、总统身体健康理事会、美世、富达和塔吉特公司，它们都有能力改善其服务人群的健康和福祉。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The premise of the proposed research is that older citizens possess considerable untapped potential related to their emotional balance and preferences for meaningful activity. Empirical evidence suggests that opportunities for meaningful work (paid or unpaid) may be especially motivating for older people and that older people may be especially well-suited for work that draws on social and emotional skills. Moreover, engagement in meaningful work is associated with increases in older adults' relatively low levels of physical activity. Thus, motivating activity by tapping preferences for meaningful engagement has the potential to improve the health and well-being of older people as well as the broader public that is served. The research is guided by socio-emotional selectivity theory, which maintains that changing time horizons result in systematic age differences in motivation and emotion. Specifically, when time horizons are expansive, people are motivated to explore and learn. When time horizons are constrained, people are motivated to prioritize emotionally meaningful experience. Over the past two decades socio-emotional selectivity theory has been extensively tested and validated in basic empirical studies; there is now a great opportunity to apply the theory to everyday domains outside of the laboratory. We propose a series of studies that explore postulates and test hypotheses about the ways that positive changes in emotional experience and the prioritization of emotional goals can enhance behavioral practices and performance in three areas: workplace productivity, physical activity, and volunteer activities. Three broad aims are pursued. Aim I tests hypotheses about (a) age differences in work preferences and the role of perceived time horizons therein, (b) comparisons of age differences in behavioral and emotional experience during work, and (c) exploratory research using company-level data to reveal contributions of older workers that may be overlooked in current managerial practices. Aim II tests hypotheses that older people prefer physical activities framed in terms of emotional meaning more so than activities specified as exercise, and that emotionally meaningful incentives are most effective in increasing walking in older people. Aim III applies the same theoretical approach to optimize the recruitment and retention of older volunteers nearing retirement age. By extending the research program in these innovative and applied directions, we extend the theory in novel ways that can help to refine the conceptual basis of the research as well as identify potential ways to improve public health. The research proposed in this renewal application is poised to have high impact because our research partners in private and government organizations have the ability to implement empirically-validated approaches on a large scale. Partners include the civic leadership of Santa Clara County, the President's Council on Physical Fitness, Mercer, Fidelity, and Target Corporation, each of which has the capacity to improve the health and well-being of the populations they serve.