Seniors more likely to see silver lining, research shows

SYDNEY－A study by a team of international and Australian psychologists have shown that older people are better able to see the positive side of experiences.

The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience and released on Monday.

In the study involving 249 participants aged between 18 and 88, it found that older participants were able to put a positive spin on footage of a weather forecast and were more successful in reframing the most distressing content.

"So, we're seeing an increase in positive emotionality with age," said Susanne Schweizer, co-author of the study and psychologist at the University of New South Wales.

Participants in the study were shown footage of two instances. In the first clip, they were asked if they had any emotional reaction to the images. And in the second, they were tasked with regulating their emotional response, which was then compared to participants' magnetic resonance imaging brain scans.

Schweizer said older participants were better able to adapt to the stimuli, despite having a more negative "resting mood state" or baseline.

"These data correspond quite neatly to the 'Socioemotional Selectivity Theory' of aging. This theory states that, as we age, we become more adept at navigating our social environment, carrying a broader psychological toolkit, or simply rearranging our lives to minimize drama," she said.

She said the results were not in line with the "Aging Brain Model", which suggests that older people react positively to distress as the area of their brain that generates negative reactions loses function.

"We didn't see an independent contribution of amygdala volume (one of the brain regions involved in negative reaction) on participants' emotionality," Schweizer said.

Xinhua