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Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression

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MS accepted for publication in Psychology and Aging

© 2017, American Psychological Association. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly
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Age Differences in Positive Feelings and their Expression

Margund K. Rohr, Cornelia Wieck, & Ute Kunzmann

University of Leipzig

Author Note

Margund K. Rohr, Cornelia Wieck, and Ute Kunzmann, Institute of Psychology, University

of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. Address correspondence to Margund K. Rohr, University

Leipzig, Neumarkt 9-19, 04109 Leipzig, Germany, phone: +493419735945, fax:

+493419735969, email: margund.rohr@uni-leipzig.de. The paper was prepared as a part of

broader project on multidirectional age differences in emotional reactivity (cf., Kunzmann,

Rohr, Wieck, Kappes, & Wrosch, 2017) which was supported by a grant of the German

Research Foundation to Ute Kunzmann. It was previously presented at the 22nd Conference

of the German Division of Developmental Psychology, Frankfurt, 2015 August.

Acknowledgments: We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mathilda Reinicke, Julia

Schuler, and Jana Nowak for conducting the interviews, Anna-Sophie Weil for her help in
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 2

coding the video material, and Markus Hilmes for his help in coding the contents of the

emotional events. We also thank Carsten Wrosch for his comments on an earlier draft of the

manuscript.
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 3

Abstract

Although various studies point to the importance of positive emotions for health and well-

being across the entire life span, current research on age differences in emotional reactivity

mainly focuses on negative emotions. Empirical evidence on positive emotions is scarce and

mixed. Part of the inconsistencies may be due to study differences in the stimuli used and the

emotional response systems considered. Thus, the present study examined different response

systems (i.e., subjective feelings, facial and verbal expressions) and used internal stimuli of

high personal relevance to all participants. More specifically, we used a modified relived

emotion task in which younger (M = 25.64, SD = 4.05) and older adults (M = 70.06, SD =

3.94) first privately relived emotions associated with a recent positive event in their life and

subsequently thought aloud about this event and its accompanying feelings. We additionally

explored whether conscientiousness as a marker of self-regulatory skills is associated with

interindividual and age-related differences in positive emotions. During the relived emotion

task, there were no age differences in positive feelings; however, in comparison to the young,

older adults reported more positive feelings during the think-aloud phase. Contrary to our

prediction, however, older adults verbally and nonverbally expressed fewer positive emotions

than their younger counterparts. Moreover, conscientiousness was associated with individual

and age-related differences in positive feelings, pointing to the potential explanatory role of

self-regulatory skills in the experience of positive emotions.

Key words: positive emotions, age differences, relived emotion, think-aloud,

conscientiousness

Word Count: 7,976

Age Differences in Positive Emotions and Their Expression 4

Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression

Old age is accompanied by social, cognitive, and physiological losses (e.g., Baltes,

1987; Baltes & Mayer, 2001). Accordingly, many empirical studies interested in

psychological aging have focused on the emotional consequences of such losses and how

older adults can regulate stress and negative emotions (cf., Fredrickson, 1998; Sauter, 2010;

Scheibe, English, Tsai, & Carstensen, 2013). A growing body of evidence suggests, however,

that the absence of negative emotions does not necessarily result in positive emotions (e.g.,

Diener & Emmons, 1984; Nezlek & Kuppens, 2008; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988).

What’s more, positive emotions seem to be important and unique contributors to satisfying

social relations, high subjective well-being, and good physical health (e.g., Cohen &

Pressman, 2006; Diener & Chan, 2011; Frederickson, 1998, 2001), making questions about

age differences in positive emotions highly relevant. The primary goal of this study was to

investigate age differences in positive emotions. More specifically, we examined individuals’

spontaneous reactions to positive events as indicated by their subjective positive feelings,

positive verbal expressions, and positive facial behaviors. A secondary goal was to explore

whether conscientiousness, as a marker of self-regulatory skills, is related to individual and

age-related differences in positive emotions.

Positive Emotions across the Adult Life Span: Theoretical Ideas

Life span theories on emotion have proposed that emotional competencies are

maintained or even improved across the adult life span (e.g., Blanchard-Fields, 1998;

Carstensen, Isaacowitz, & Charles, 1999; Labouvie-Vief, 1998). A prominent theory in this

field, Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST), postulates that the perception of future life

time affects individuals’ selection of goals, activities, and social partners. More concretely, as

their future time perspective shrinks with age, older adults are thought to increasingly

prioritize present-oriented emotional goals over other more long-term knowledge-related

goals. Thus, with advanced age, emotional goals related to the maximization of positive affect
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 5

and the minimization of negative affect gain importance (Carstensen, 2006; Carstensen et al.,

1999). Moreover, SST postulates that this prioritization of emotional goals goes along with

gains in emotion- and self-regulatory skills (Carstensen, Fung, & Charles, 2003).

A similarly prominent theory of emotional aging, Dynamic Integration Theory (DIT),

also notes positive emotional development in adulthood and old age but explains age

differences in emotion by changes in the interplay of two underlying processes, namely affect

differentiation (i.e., exploration and analysis of emotions linked to affective-cognitive

complexity) and affect optimization (i.e., minimization of negative and maximization of

positive affect). The theory postulates that the dwindling of cognitive and physiological

resources with age leads to a prioritization of affect optimization over cognitive-affective

complexity because the former is more automatic and requires fewer resources than the latter.

Similarly, assuming that the processing of negative emotions is more cognitively demanding

than the processing of positive emotions, DIT states that older adults tend to focus on positive

rather than negative affect (Labouvie-Vief, 1998, 2003; Labouvie-Vief & Medler, 2002).

In sum, both theories assert that there is an age-related improvement in the quality of

emotional experience. However, whereas SST would suggest that the age-related increase in

positive experiences results from improved self-regulatory skills, DIT would suggest exactly

the opposite, namely, enhanced positivity in old age is thought to be a by-product of age-

related losses in self-regulation. Notably, self-regulation reflects a more general term and

refers to individual’s management of cognitions, emotions, and behaviors in order to

accomplish personal long-term goals. Seen from this perspective, individual’s ability to

regulate positive emotions, the focus of SST and DIT, is one core component of self-

regulation.

Past Evidence and Its Limitations

SST and DIT have been tested in diverse domains, including affective information

processing (e.g., Mather & Carstensen, 2005; Reed, Chan, & Mikels, 2014), social
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 6

functioning (e.g., Grühn, Rebucal, Diehl, Lumley, & Labouvie-Vief, 2008; Lang &

Carstensen, 2002; Luong & Charles, 2014), and (longer-term) emotional well-being (e.g.,

Carstensen, Pasupathi, Mayr, & Nesselroade, 2000; Carstensen et al., 2011; Mroczek &

Kolarz, 1998). In these domains, the evidence is generally consistent with the theoretical idea

that aging is accompanied by stable or even increasing levels of positivity.

As to age differences in positive emotional reactions to standardized laboratory

stimuli, however, the evidence for greater positivity with age has been mixed. While some

studies have suggested positive age differences in both positive feelings and expressions,

(e.g., Carstensen, Gottman, & Levenson, 1995; Levenson, Carstensen, & Gottman, 1994;

Pennebaker & Stone, 2003; Schryer, Ross, St. Jacques, Levine, & Fernandes, 2012), other

studies did not find age differences (e.g., Labouvie-Vief, Lumley, Jain, & Heinze, 2003;

Levenson, Carstensen, Friesen, & Ekman, 1991), and yet other studies even suggested age-

related declines (e.g., Bluck & Alea, 2009; Borod et al., 2004; Pedder et al., 2016; Robertson

& Hopko, 2013).

Several factors may explain these inconsistencies. A first refers to study differences in

the stimuli used to evoke positive emotions. More concretely, most studies have applied

external stimuli such as pictures (e.g., Grühn & Scheibe, 2008; Mather & Knight, 2005;

Pedder et al., 2016; Smith, Hillman, & Dulley, 2005) and film sequences (e.g., Beaudreau,

MacKay, & Storandt, 2009; Tsai, Levenson, & Carstensen, 2000). The personal relevance of

these external stimuli is often unclear and may systematically differ across age groups. For

instance, Tsai and colleagues (2000) used a film clip of a young comedian talking about

problems with his parents that most likely was more relevant to younger than older adults. As

a result, younger adults may have retrospectively reported greater amusement than their older

counterparts. Studies that have used more personally meaningful stimuli such as

conversations about a positive event in one’s marriage (e.g., Levenson, Carstensen, &

Gottman, 1993, 1994), engagement in collaborative tasks (e.g., Henry, Berg, Smith, &
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 7

Florsheim, 2005), or reminiscing about a positive life event (e.g., Pasupathi & Carstensen,

2003) have found more positive emotions in older than younger individuals. Albeit indirect,

this evidence suggests that systematic age group differences in the personal relevance of the

emotion-evoking stimuli may be one factor that can, at least partly, explain the past

inconsistent evidence for age differences in positive emotions (cf., Kunzmann & Isaacowitz,

2017). To minimize the possibility that older adults’ positive reactions are smaller than one

would expect on the basis of past theoretical work (e.g., Carstensen, 2006; Labouvie-Vief,

2003), the present study used internally generated emotion-evoking stimuli (i.e.,

autobiographical memories) that were highly and similarly relevant to younger and older

adults.

A second factor refers to the emotional response system that is being considered.

Whereas some studies suggested parallel age differences in positive inner feelings and

positive behavioral expressions (e.g., Bluck & Alea, 2009; Malatesta-Magai, Izard, Culber, &

Nicolich, 1987; Levenson et al., 1991; Tsai et al., 2000 for continuous ratings), other studies

point to multidirectional age differences (e.g., Henry et al., 2007; Lefkowitz & Fingerman,

2003; Pedder et al., 2016; Schryer et al., 2012; Smith et al., 2005). For instance, examining

younger and older couples during a conflict discussion and a collaborative task, Henry et al.

(2007) reported an age-related increase in spouses’ perceptions of their partner’s positive

behavior, which was not found for positive behaviors rated by objective coders. Similar

evidence was reported in a study focusing on conversations between older mothers and their

daughters (Lefkowitz & Fingerman, 2003). The authors reported that older mothers perceived

the interaction as more positive than their daughters, but the mothers did not verbally express

their positive feelings as much as their daughters did. Finally, Pedder et al. (2016) reported

that, in comparison to young adults, older adults reacted with greater happiness to positive

film stimuli in the just watch condition, but they did not facially express their positive feelings

as much as young adults. By contrast, however, analyzing narratives of emotional positive,

Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 8

negative, and neutral autobiographical memories using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word

Program (LIWC; Pennebaker, Booth, & Francis, 2007), Schryer and colleagues (2012) found

comparable levels of subjective positive feelings in younger and older adults as well as a

tendency for older adults to utter more positive emotions than younger adults (especially

when talking about neutral events). However, two additional studies on age differences in

verbal emotional expressions found higher expressivity among the young. In the study by

Bluck and Alea (2009) younger and older adults talked about two positive events, a romantic

evening and a vacation memory, to an interested interviewer. The narratives of the young

contained more positive emotions than older adults’ narratives. In a study by Robertson and

Hopko (2013), participants were asked to recall a positive and a negative life event. Again,

younger adults used a higher percentage of positive emotion words than older adults did.

In sum, the evidence for age differences in positive emotions is mixed and more than

one study suggest multidirectional age differences in positive feelings versus positive

expressions. More specifically, in comparison to young adults, older adults often experience

greater positive feelings but they do not necessarily express them as much as younger adults

do. To examine multidirectional age differences in positive emotions further, we concurrently

consider subjective positive feelings as well as facial and verbal expressivity of positive

emotions in the context of internally generated stimuli.

The Role of Conscientiousness in Age Differences in Positive Emotions

It is well established that personality traits are associated with positive emotions (e.g.,

Charles, Reynolds, & Gatz, 2001; DeNeve & Cooper, 1998; Isaacowitz & Smith, 2003;

Smith, Ryan, & Röcke, 2013). Whereas, much research has focused on neuroticism and

extraversion as predictors of positive emotions (e.g., Charles et al., 2001; McCabe & Fleeson,

2012; McNiel & Fleeson, 2006; Verduyn & Brans, 2012), less is known about the role of

conscientiousness in positive emotions. Conscientiousness consists of different facets such as

impulse/self-control, orderliness, and industriousness (e.g., Roberts, Chernyshenko, Stark, &

Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 9

Goldberg, 2005) that all are indicators of a successful self-regulation (Chow, Berenbaum, &

Flores, 2013; Javaras et al., 2012; Pocnet, Dupuis, Congard, & Jopp, 2017). Moreover,

previous studies suggest that individuals high in conscientiousness experience positive

feelings more often and more intensively than individuals low in conscientiousness (e.g., Hill

& Allemand, 2012; Letzring & Adamcik, 2015; Smith et al., 2013; Soto, 2015). At the same

time, there is also a large body of evidence suggesting that conscientiousness increases during

adulthood and old age (e.g., Allemand, Zimprich, & Hendriks, 2008; Lawton, 2001; Mõttus,

Johnson, & Deary, 2012; Mroczek & Spiro, 2003; Wortman, Lucas, & Donnellan, 2012).

Taken together, past evidence is consistent with the idea that conscientiousness is

associated with individual and age-related differences in positive feelings. To the best of our

knowledge, however, there is less evidence for the idea that conscientiousness plays a similar

role in positive behavioral expressions. Notably, evidence for the idea that conscientiousness,

as a proxy for self-regulation, is associated with age differences in positive emotions would be

consistent with SST rather than DIT, given that SST has stated that older adults’ relatively

improved emotional functioning largely is the result of resource-demanding emotion

regulation processes that are at the core of self-regulatory processes (e.g., Mather, 2012).

The Present Study

The primary goal of this study was to investigate age differences in positive emotions

across different reaction systems. A secondary goal was to examine conscientiousness, a

proxy for self-regulation, and its associations with individual and age-related differences in

positive emotions, particularly, subjective positive feelings. We extended past work by (a)

using autobiographical memories as internal stimuli with a comparable high personal

relevance for younger and older adults, (b) assessing three reaction systems, that is, subjective

feelings, verbal expressions, and facial behavior, and (c) focusing on the role of

conscientiousness as one factor that is associated with self-regulatory skills and may explain

potential age differences in positive emotions.

Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 10

To do so, we conducted a modified relived emotion task in which younger and older

participants first silently relived positive emotions associated with a recent positive life event

and subsequently thought aloud about this event and its accompanying feelings. To ensure

high personal relevance of the events for both younger and older adults, all participants were

encouraged to choose and talk about an individually meaningful experience. Extending past

studies that used standardized events or provided thematic categories (e.g., Bluck & Alea,

2009: remembering vacation vs. a romantic date with one’s partner; e.g., Levenson et al.,

1991: thinking about an amusing incident; Schryer et al., 2012: getting married, feeding

ducks), participants in our study were completely free to choose any happy event of their

recent past.

Given past theoretical work (Carstensen, 2006; Labouvie-Vief, 2003), we predicted

that older adults should generally experience and express more positive feelings than young

adults. Given past empirical evidence and our own further theoretical considerations (e.g.,

Henry et al., 2007; Pedder et al., 2016; Smith et al., 2005), however, we tested whether

positive age differences in positive emotions may by particularly evident on the level of

subjective inner feelings rather than the levels of facial and verbal behaviors. A second set of

predictions referred to the potential role of conscientiousness in individual and age-related

differences in positive emotions. In line with previous finding (e.g., Allemand et al., 2008;

Mroczek & Spiro, 2003), we expected that older adults should be more conscientious than

younger adults. We further predicted that conscientiousness is positively associated with

positive emotions, particularly positive feelings (e.g., Hill & Allemand, 2012; Letzring &

Adamcik, 2015; Smith et al., 2013). Finally, we tested whether the association between

conscientiousness and positive emotions remains stable when controlling for age. 1

Method

Participants
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 11

This study is part of a larger project interested in age differences in emotional

reactivity. A first study (Kunzmann, Rohr, Wieck, Kappes, & Wrosch, 2017) focused on age

differences in negative emotions that were elicited subsequently to the positive emotion

eliciting task. Prior to data collection, the ethics committee of the University of Leipzig had

approved of the study. The sample comprised 85 younger (18 to 37 years, M = 25.64, SD =

4.05) and 79 older (64 6o 79 years, M = 70.06, SD = 3.94) adults who were recruited via

newspapers, the internet, and notices/flyers that were distributed in public places and sent to

local firms and facilities (cf., Table 1). All participants were Caucasian and spoke German

fluently. There were no age differences in the number of men and women (in each age group,

there were 49% men). The sample was highly educated as about 56 % had at least a

University degree. Older adults had a higher likelihood to have a University degree than

younger adults. Age differences were also observed with respect to partnership status. More

concretely, younger adults had a higher likelihood to be single, whereas the majority of older

adults was married or lived in a stable relationship (cf., Table 1). All variables that show

significant age differences were inserted as covariates in additional analyses.

Procedure

Participants were invited to two sessions in our laboratory at the University of Leipzig.

In a first individual session, participants completed the relived emotion and think-aloud tasks.

In a second group session, they answered to additional questionnaires assessing personality

traits, subjective well-being, and other person-related characteristics.

As to the first session, after welcoming and introducing participants to the study, they

were asked to think about a life event in the last five years which made them very happy and

joyful. One of four trained interviewers who was uninformed about the study hypotheses and

used standard scripts throughout the interview helped participants to choose an event that was

memorable, linked to a concrete situation (i.e., preferably with a clear beginning and a clear

ending), and was focused on joy / happiness as target emotion. In a first step, they were asked
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 12

to select and recall the situation. The participant then described the situation to the interviewer

and was guided to focus on the moment at which the target emotion was felt with no other

emotion. After this interactive period, the experimenter left the room and all further

instructions were presented on a computer screen. The participant was asked to press a

computer key as soon as he or she was ready to silently relive the target emotion for 20

seconds. Participants were videotaped during the reliving period and subsequently completed

a computerized emotion adjective list (see below). The experimenter then reentered the room

and provided further instructions.

In the subsequent think-aloud task that was adapted from past work on wisdom-related

knowledge (e.g., Kunzmann & Baltes, 2003), participants were asked to imagine that they

would tell the previously relived situation to a friend and to let him or her know everything

about this situation that was important to them (e.g., what they were feeling and thinking,

what they have learned from the event). As in the wisdom interviews, the experimenter stayed

in the room, while the participants were thinking aloud. However, participants were told that

the experimenter would not communicate with them, while the interviewers were instructed to

hold off (i.e., avoiding eye contact, not responding to participants’ questions). After the think-

aloud task, participants again rated how they felt when talking about the happy life event

using the same adjective list.

A remote-controlled video camera placed above the TV screen recorded participants’

facial behavior. The videos were later coded by trained raters (see below). Recorded audio

tapes were transcribed and used for analyzing verbal expressions.

Measures

Subjective experience was assessed twice, that is, directly after the relived emotion and

the think-aloud task. Participants rated how they felt during these tasks on eight positive

emotions (i.e., active, stimulated, happy, excited, amused, interested, strong, content) and 13

negative emotions (i.e., anxious, distressed, sad, angry, ashamed, worried, disgusted, nervous,
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 13

downhearted, guilty, upset, insecure, disappointed). The response scale of this adjective list

ranged from 1 (not at all/a little) to 5 (extremely). Cronbach’s alphas were high for the relived

emotion phase: αPositive = .87, αNegative = .82, and the think-aloud task: αPositive = .89, αNegative =

.83.

Verbal expressions. The think-aloud transcripts were analyzed with the LIWC

Program by Pennebaker and colleagues (2007). Using a German dictionary with over 6,400

words, this program counts words and word stems in text material and assigns them to pre-

defined categories such as grammatical-linguistic features (e.g., pronouns, articles),

psychological processes (e.g., affective, cognitive, and social processes), and relativity (e.g.,

references on time and space). The final results contain information on category percentage of

occurrence (in relation to the text length; see Wolf et al., 2008). In the current study, we

focused on the category “positive emotions” that encompasses words such as happiness, joy,

and good.2

Facial expressions were assessed during both tasks (i.e., relived emotion and think-

aloud). Video recordings were prepared for coding by (a) removing the audio track and (b)

limiting the material to the spontaneous think-aloud task and excluding reactions to

interviewer’s potential inquiries. Using the software package Observer XT, two trained raters

coded the video material for positive facial expressions using a modified version of the

Emotional Behavior Coding System (Gross & Levenson, 1993). This online-rating procedure

consisted of two steps: First, whenever the raters observed a positive emotional expression

they pressed a button. Two measures were derived, namely the occurrence of happiness as a

dichotomous measure on the existence of happy and joyful expressions (yes vs. no), and the

frequency of happiness as the percentage of happy and joyful expressions during the entire

observation period. The video stopped automatically, and in a second step, the raters indicated

the intensity of the given emotional expression on a 3-point scale ranging from 1 (weak

expression) to 3 (strong expression). About 20 % of the material were double coded (Nrelived
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 14

emotion task = 33, Nthink-aloud task = 34). For the relived emotion task, the interrater reliabilities for

the happiness categories were acceptable (occurrence: κ = .69, frequency: ICC = .80,

intensity: ICC = .84). For the think-aloud task, interrater reliabilities for the happiness

categories were satisfactory (occurrence: κ = .84, frequency: ICC = .80, intensity: ICC = .91).
3, 4

Conscientiousness was assessed by three items taken from a well-established short

version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI-S; Lang, John, Lüdtke, Schupp, & Wagner, 2011).5

Participants rated how descriptive the statements were using a 7-point response scale from 1

(does not apply at all) to 7 (applies totally). Cronbach’s Alpha for the brief composite

measure was acceptable (α = .68).

Covariates. We further assessed gender (1 = female), partnership status (1 = in stable

relationship), and education (1 = University degree).

Results

Preliminary Analyses

Manipulation check: Type of positive event. In a first step, one rater (= first author)

screened all think-aloud protocols and categorized positive events according to a list of a

priori defined categories, including job and career, family, friends, and leisure. About 20 % of

the narratives (N = 36) were double coded by a trained second rater. Interrater agreement was

satisfactory, κ = .87. In accordance with theories on developmental crises and tasks (Erikson,

1968; Havighurst, 1956, 1972), younger adults reported significantly more job and career

related topics (i.e., successful exam, completing a degree, getting accepted for a job) than

older adults. By contrast, older adults’ narratives contained more family-related themes such

as birth of grandchildren, successes of children, or family reunions, χ²(7) = 32.16, p < .01 (cf.,

Table 2). In a supplementary web-based study, 32 younger and older adults (M = 32.44 years,

SD = 15.65, range: 20 to 79, 75 % female) were asked to rate the relevance of the event

categories for a younger (20 years old) vs. an older person (70 years old) on a 5-point-scale
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 15

ranging from 1 (not relevant at all) to 5 (very relevant). In line with the previous coding, job

and career related topics were regarded as more relevant to younger adults, whereas family-

related topics were regarded as more relevant to older adults (cf., Table 3). This pattern of

findings suggests that both age groups tended to remember positive events that were relevant

to their respective age group.

Subjective success at reliving the target emotion. Immediately, after the relived

emotion task, participants indicated how successful they were in reliving this feeling using a

5-point scale from 1 (not at all/ a little) to 5 (extremely). There were no age differences in

subjective success of reviving happiness (Myoung = 3.44, SDyoung = 0.87, Mold = 3.56, SDold =

0.87), F(1, 162) = 0.80, p = .372.

Length of protocols. On average, the think-aloud protocols were comprised of about

483 words (M = 482.60, SD = 309.92, Range: 73 to 2,464). There were no age difference in

the length of the narratives, F(1,162) = 0.85, p = .359.

Age Differences in Positive Emotions

Five analyses were run to test our main predictions. First, an ANOVA with repeated

measurement for subjective feelings, testing age differences in positive feelings during the

relived emotion and the think-aloud task. Second, an ANOVA with repeated measurement for

the frequency of facial expressivity, testing age differences in positive facial expressions

during the relived emotion and the think aloud task. In both ANOVAs, task (relived emotion

vs. think-aloud) served as a within-subject factor and age group (young vs. old) served as a

between-subject factor.6 Third, two Chi-square tests for the occurrence of positive facial

expressions, testing age differences in the emotional respondence during both tasks. Fourth,

two ANOVAs for the intensity of positive facial expressivity, testing age differences in

positive facial expressivity among responders during the relived emotion and during the think

aloud task. Fifth, an ANOVA for verbal expressions of positive emotions, which were

assessed during the think-aloud task. In all ANOVAs age group served as between-subject
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 16

factor (young vs. old). Finally, in additional ANCOVAs, socio-demographic variables as well

as age-relevance were tested as covariates.

Subjective positive feelings. The overall analysis revealed a significant main effect of

task, F(1, 162) = 11.19, p < .01, ηp2 = .07, suggesting that positive feelings were higher during

the relived emotion (M = 3.85, SD = 0.73) than the think-aloud task (M = 3.67, SD = 0.78).

The main effect for age group was not significant, F(1, 162) = 2.63, p = .107; however, the

interaction between age group and task reached significance, F(1, 162) = 6.75, p < .01, ηp2 =

.04 (cf., Table 4).

A follow-up analysis of the interaction effect of age group and task revealed that the

relived emotion task elicited similar levels of positive feelings in younger and older adults,

t(162) = -0.28, p = .783. By contrast, the think-aloud task elicited greater positive feelings in

older than in younger adults, t(162) = -2.57, p < .05, d = 0.39 (cf., Table 4). Additional within

age group analyses demonstrated that younger adults experienced a significant decrease in

positive feelings across the tasks, t(84) = 3.88, p < .001, d = 0.42, whereas older adults’ level

of positive feelings was of comparable size, t(78) = .059, p = .555.

Facial expressions. The overall analysis of the frequency of positive facial expression

revealed significant main effects of task, F(1, 149) = 85.91, p < .001, ηp2 = .37, and age group,

F(1, 162) = 5.99, p < .05, ηp2 = .04. The interaction between age group and task was

marginally significant, F(1, 162) = 3.15, p = .078 (cf., Table 4).

Follow-up analysis of the significant main effect of task revealed that the think-aloud

task (M = 5.55, SD = 6.81) elicited more positive facial expressions than the relived emotion

task (M = 0.51, SD = 0.79), t(148) = -9.33, p < .001, d = 0.76. Follow-up analysis of the

significant main effect of age group revealed that, contrary to our predictions, during both

tasks, younger adults expressed positive emotions more frequently (M = 3.50, SD = 3.65) than

older adults (M = 2.09, SD = 3.13), t(162) = 2.65, p < .01, d = 0.42.

Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 17

In addition, during the relived emotion task, younger adults were significantly more

likely to express their positive feelings at least once (i.e., 41 younger vs. 15 older adults),

χ²(154) = 14.41, p < .001. Similarly, during think-aloud task, there were significantly more

non-responders among older adults (i.e., participants who did not show positive emotions at

all; ten young non-responders vs. 27 older non-responders; χ²(154) = 12.12, p < .01).7 Among

responders, there were no significant age differences in the intensity of positive facial

expressions during both the relived emotion, F(1,54) = 2.26, p = .138, and the think-aloud

task, F(1,115) = 0.00, p = .969 (cf., Table 4).8

To sum up, during both tasks older adults expressed their positive feelings less

frequently than the young, though, if they showed their emotions at least once, the intensity of

positive expressions was comparable to that of the young.

Verbal expressions. In contrast to our hypotheses, but consistent with our analysis of

age differences in the frequency of positive facial expressions, younger adults’ narratives

contained a higher percentage of positive emotion words than older adults’ protocols,

F(1,159) = 9.75, p < .01, ηp2 = .06 (cf., Table 4).9, 10

Covariates. In additional ANCOVAs, we separately analyzed sociodemographic

variables and topics’ age-relevance as covariates in all prediction-relevant analyses. All

effects involving age group remained stable after controlling for gender, partnership status,

education, and age-relevance.11

The Role of Conscientiousness in Age Differences in Positive Emotions

Consistent with previous research and our prediction, older adults (M = 5.72, SD =

0.88) were significantly more conscientious than younger adults (M = 4.84, SD = 1.08), F(1,

162) = 31.85, p < .001, ηp2 = .17. In addition to the positive correlation between age group and

conscientiousness (r = .41, p < .001), age group was also associated with subjective positive

feelings, r = .20, p < .05, positive facial expressions, r = -.18, p < .05, and positive verbal

expressions, r = -.22, p < .01. Furthermore, whereas conscientiousness was associated with
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 18

subjective positive feelings, r = .32, p < .001, and verbal behavior, r = -.20, p < .01, it was not

correlated with facial expressions, r = -.05, p = .514. However, when controlling for age

group, only the association with positive feelings remained significant, r = .28, p < .001,

while the correlation between conscientiousness and verbal expressions became non-

significant, r = -.11, p = .184.

Discussion

Life span theories on emotional aging have suggested that older adults should

experience and express positive feelings more often and intensively than younger adults (e.g.,

Carstensen, 2006; Labouvie-Vief, 2003). However, empirical evidence for age differences in

positive emotions has been mixed. Part of the inconsistencies may be rooted in the stimuli

used and the emotional response system considered (i.e., inner subjective feelings vs. outer

expressions). In our study, we used a modified relived emotion task in which participants first

relived positive feelings associated with a recent joyful autobiographical memory of high

personal relevance and then thought aloud about this event and its accompanying positive

emotions. Given a similarly high relevance for younger and older adults, we expected that, in

line with theoretical consideration (Kunzmann & Isaacowitz, 2017; Kunzmann et al., 2017),

positive age differences should be more likely to emerge. To differentiate inner feelings and

outer expressions, we further utilized a multimodal approach and considered, in addition to

subjective feelings, facial and verbal expressions. As a secondary aim, we examined whether

conscientiousness, a proxy of self-regulatory skills, was associated with the predicted age

differences in positive emotions.

To begin, our findings strongly suggest that the relived emotion and think-aloud tasks

elicited memories in older and younger adults that were highly relevant to their respective age

group. Consistent with developmental tasks and crises (Erikson, 1968; Havighurst, 1956,

1972), younger adults reported more self-focused topics such as personal achievements and
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 19

career-related issues, whereas older adults remembered more other-focused events such as the

birth of grandchildren, successes of their children, and family gatherings.

Furthermore, our results suggest that age differences in positive emotions are

dependent on the emotional response system and task considered. More concretely, there were

no age differences in subjective positive feelings during the relived emotion task. However, in

comparison with young adults, older adults reported more intense positive feelings during the

think-aloud task. In contrast, and inconsistent with our prediction, older adults facially and

verbally expressed positive emotions less frequently than younger adults. Consistently, we

observed a higher percentage of older as compared to younger non-responders who did not

express facially their positive emotions at all. Notably, however, the intensity of facial

expressions was comparable among young and older responders. Finally, when controlling for

age, conscientiousness, a proxy of self-regulatory skills, was positively associated with

positive feelings, but not with positive facial or verbal expressions.

Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression

As discussed above, the two major aging theories, SST and DIT would suggest

uniform gains in the quality of positive feeling and expressions. Interestingly, however, our

own empirical evidence supported several earlier studies (e.g., Henry et al., 2007; Pedder et

al., 2016) that already suggested age-related stability or even increases in only the quality of

positive feelings, but not positive expressive behaviors. Two factors may explain the evidence

for such multidirectional age differences.

A first may be age differences in the ability to behaviorally express positive feelings.

Emotional reactivity, an individual’s spontaneous reaction to an emotional event, is closely

tied to emotion regulation which is defined as shaping one’s emotions, their occurrence,

experience, or expression (Gross, 2014). Both processes are strongly interrelated, since

spontaneous emotional reactions are always to a certain degree regulated; thus, previous

studies on emotion regulation may provide insight in potential explanations for a reduction in
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 20

positive expressivity across age groups. Although most relevant past studies have focused on

negative emotions, the evidence clearly suggests that effective emotion regulation is

positively linked to the availability of cognitive resources and older adults are often less

successful at implementing cognitively demanding emotion regulation strategies (e.g., Opitz,

Lee, Gross, & Urry, 2014; Opitz, Rauch, Terry & Urry, 2012; Wrzus, Müller, Wagner,

Lindenberger, & Riediger, 2013). Further evidence suggests that the amplification of (facial)

expression is as resource demanding as emotional suppression (e.g., Bonanno, Papa, Lalande,

Westphal, & Coifman, 2004; Kunzmann, Kupperbusch, & Levenson, 2005; Robinson &

Demaree, 2009). Thus, it is possible that older adults expressed their positive inner feelings

facially and verbally less often than younger adults because the generation of emotional

expressions requires resources that are less available in older than younger adults (see also

Pedder et al., 2016). Interestingly, however, if younger and older adults did express their inner

feelings, these expressions were of similar intensity in the present sample. Thus, in

comparison to young adults, older adults may be more selective as to whether they express a

positive feeling at all, however, when they show their feelings, expressions are as intense as

those of young adults. Moreover, it deserves note that younger adults were facially more

expressive than older adults in both experimental tasks. However, it seems likely that these

tasks differ in their resource demands (i.e., silently reviving an emotional event vs. talking

loudly about different aspects of the emotional event). Thus, since the think-aloud task

presumably demands more resources, one might expect more pronounced age differences in

emotional expressivity than during the relived emotion task; yet, this was not the case. Thus,

although we consider it highly likely that age-related decline in cognitive resources partly

explain the lower frequency of positive expressions in older, as compared to younger adults, a

relative lack of cognitive resources may not capture the whole story.

A second factor that may partly explain the multi-directional age differences in

positive emotions refers to age differences in the motivation to express positive feelings.
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 21

More specifically, older adults, born between 1935 and 1950, may have been more socialized

to conceal and control their inner feelings than later born younger adults. Consistently, in past

work, older, as compared to younger, adults reported that they are less expressive and more

emotionally controlled (e.g., Gross et al., 1997). In a study by Lawton, Kleban, Rajagopal,

and Dean (1992), older adults stated a greater preference for neutral emotional states, a

greater desire to avoid negative and positive reactions, and a greater tendency to not show

their emotions outwardly.

These age or cohort differences in positive expressions may also be due to implicit

aging theories or age-differential display rules. Many individuals including older adults

themselves may consider being in emotional control, understood as a sign of emotional

maturity and competence, as desirable characteristic of older adults (see also Robertson &

Hopko, 2013). Put differently, if older individuals believe that it is inappropriate for them to

show their inner feelings, they may try to down-regulate their behavioral and verbal

expressions to a greater extent than younger adults for who different rules and standards may

exist. Thus, one interesting avenue for future research is to examine the role of cohort

differences in upbringing, implicit theories of aging, and age-differential display rules.

Ideally, this research will use longitudinal designs so as to be able to disentangle the effects of

age and cohort.

Age differences in positive feelings: the role of the task. In our study, we used a

relived emotion and a think-aloud task to evoke positive emotions. We successfully elicited

positive emotions during both tasks, but we did observe different patterns of age differences

in positive inner feelings across both tasks. More concretely, the relived emotion task elicited

similar levels of positive feelings in younger and older adults, whereas the think-aloud task

elicited more positive feelings in older than younger adults. Within age group analyses further

suggested that older adults preserved their level of subjective positive feelings across both

tasks, whereas younger adults’ positive feelings decreased during the think-aloud task.
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 22

Additionally, it deserves note that the relived emotion task generally elicited greater positive

feelings than the think-aloud task. The opposite was true for facial expressions that were

elicited by the think-aloud task, but much less so by the relived emotion task.

This pattern of findings suggests that the relived emotion task, as a rather private

setting does lead to a stronger focus on inner feelings and not necessarily outward expressions

of these inner feelings. By contrast, the think-aloud task is more communicative and hence

presumably fosters the expression of one’s emotions. In this vein, previous studies have

demonstrated that more interactive and communicative paradigms that use think-aloud tasks

(e.g., Bluck & Alea, 2009; Labouvie-Vief et al., 2003) or ask participants to engage in

conversations (e.g., Lefkowitz & Fingerman, 2003; Levenson et al., 1993, 1994) not only

stimulated the experience of positive feelings, but also encouraged expressing positive affect

verbally, nonverbally, or both (e.g., Gable & Reis, 2010; Lambert et al., 2013; Rohr & Abdel

Rahman, 2015).

Assuming an age-related increase in the motivation to optimize the emotional quality

of social interactions (e.g., Carstensen et al., 1999), it is thinkable that experimental settings

ought to be even more interactive and social than the present think-aloud task to activate older

adults’ striving for positive social interaction and encourage them to communicate and

express their inner feelings. More concretely, in our study, participants thought aloud about a

recent positive event in the presence of a stranger, that is, an interviewer who was instructed

to hold off. Furthermore, our think-aloud task was rather passive and encouraged a

monologue rather than a conversation between the interviewer and the participants. Providing

a social context and engaging in conversations with “meaningful” others (e.g., Charles &

Piazza, 2007; Stanley & Isaacowitz, 2015; Zhang, Fung, Stanley, & Isaacowitz, 2013) should

be even better suited to elicit positive emotional reactions in older adults.

Age Differences in Subjective Positive Feelings: The Role of Conscientiousness

Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 23

Prominent theories on emotional aging such as SST or DIT suggest that age

differences in self-regulatory skills may be one factor that can explain age differences in

positive emotions. However, while both theories agree on enhanced positivity as the outcome,

they provide different explanations. Whereas SST postulates that this positivity reflects age-

related gains and success in self-regulation due to motivational shifts in goal pursuit, DIT

views positive affect in old age as a by-product of age-related losses in self-regulation. Thus,

as a secondary aim, we examined whether conscientiousness, a proxy for self-regulation, is

associated with age and positive emotions, thus, serving as an explanation for potential age

differences in positive emotions (e.g., Hill & Allemand, 2012; Pocnet et al., 2017; Smith et

al., 2013). Consistent with previous research (e.g., Allemand et al., 2008; Mroczek & Spiro,

2003), older adults were more conscientious than younger adults. Moreover,

conscientiousness was associated with subjective positive feelings (e.g., Letzring & Adamcik,

2015; Smith et al., 2013). We further found that this association remained stable when

controlling for age. The correlational pattern suggests that conscientiousness might function

as a mediator; yet, longitudinal designs are clearly needed to provide appropriate evidence for

the idea that conscientiousness mediates the relationship between age and positive feelings

(cf., Lindenberger et al., 2011; Maxwell & Cole, 2007). Thus, consistent with SST, the

possession of better self-regulatory skills may actually enable older individuals to maintain

and increase positive inner feelings (Carstensen et al., 2003). However, it is an open question

why these self-regulatory gains were restricted to subjective feelings and did not affect facial

and verbal expressions. While we cannot exclude that this pattern is partly due to shared

method variance, behavioral expressions may be more multi-determined than subjective

feelings. Thus, age-specific factors (e.g., display rules, available resources) may blur the link

between conscientiousness and expressive behavior.

Strengths and Limitations

Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 24

This study has many strengths, including a new, ecologically valid paradigm to evoke

emotional reactions to personally meaningful memories that were comparably relevant to

younger and older adults, as well as assessing positive emotions across different reaction

systems (i.e., subjective feelings, verbal and facial expressions). As an extension to previous

studies (e.g., Bluck & Alea, 2009; Levenson et al., 1991; Schryer et al., 2012), we instructed

our participants to freely choose any happy event of their recent past. However, we also have

to acknowledge some limitations.

First, in our study, participants were asked to report a recent positive life event (i.e.,

within the last five years), but we have had information about neither the exact date of the

event nor its subjective self-relevance. Although there was no age difference in the self-

reported success in reviving and focusing on the positive feelings associated with the

remembered event, past studies have suggested that the expression of positive emotions may

vary with the recency of the event. For instance, Schryer et al. (2012) found that older, as

compared to younger, adults used more positive words when describing a recent

autobiographical memory (i.e., within last year), whereas no age differences emerged in

description of more distant experiences (i.e., childhood and adolescence). We do not expect

that younger and older adults’ events systematically vary in the recency; however, future

studies should implement explicit measures to control for possible differences in recall.

Similarly, we cannot rule out that younger and older participants recalled positive events that

differ in their subjective self-relevance. Although coders and participants of a supplementary

online-study agreed upon the age-relevance of the narratives, all findings remained robust

when controlling for age-relevance. However, while this could be due to the indirect

assessment chosen, potential differences in subjective self-relevance might still contribute to

age differences in the experience and expression of positive emotions. Thus, future studies

should incorporate an explicit measure on subjective self-relevance that complements rater’s

evaluation.
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 25

Second, our findings regarding the frequency and the intensity of facial expression are

not as consistent as expected. Whereas we observed differences in the frequency of expressed

emotions, younger and older responders did not differ in the intensity of positive (facial)

emotions. While we believe that this pattern points to older adults’ persevered capability of

expressing emotion, one alternative explanation for these inconsistencies is methodological in

nature. Previous studies demonstrated that older adults’ facial expressions are more difficult

to discern for both younger and older raters (e.g., Borod et al., 2004; Förster, Hess, &

Werheid, 2014; Hess, Adams, Simard, Stevenson, & Kleck, 2012; Levenson et al., 1991),

though some studies suggest that this is not the case for positive emotions such as happiness

(e.g., Ebner, He, & Johnson, 2011; Ebner & Johnson, 2010). However, in our study, we

conducted an extensive observer training which yielded satisfying interrater reliabilities

across both age groups (cf., footnote 3). Moreover, age differences in facial expressions were

parallel to age differences in verbal expressions that were analyzed via an objective software

rather than human raters.

Third, we analyzed verbal protocols using the LIWC program. Although the program

represents a reliable and valid tool to effectively examine verbal expressions and previous

research has demonstrated its usability in emotion research (e.g., Löckenhoff, Costa, & Lane,

2008; Schryer et al., 2012), it does not fully capture all aspects of natural communication such

as negations, irony, or contextual embeddedness of language. However, in our study, results

on age differences in verbal expressions are congruent with facial expressions, and the

frequencies are comparable to other studies that used LIWC to analyze the emotional content

of autobiographical memories and narratives (e.g., Robertson & Hopko, 2013; Schryer et al.,

2012).

Fourth, since current knowledge about positive emotions is scarce and mixed we did

not differentiate among different positive emotions. However, recent research points to the

multidirectionality and age-differential functionality of specific emotions such as anger and

Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 26

sadness (e.g., Kunzmann, Kappes, & Wrosch, 2013; Kunzmann et al., 2017). Although

positive emotions are fewer in number and less separable than negative emotions, considering

distinct positive emotions may provide further insights (Fredrickson, 1998, 2001). For

instance, in line with SST, younger adults endorse knowledge-related and agentic goals,

which is why they should experience emotions such as curiosity, interest, pride, and elation

more frequently and more intensively. By contrast, older adults’ prioritization of emotion

regulation and affect optimization should be linked to gladness, contentment, joy, or

compassion. Thus, one interesting avenue for future research is to shed light on age

differences in distinct positive emotions across different contexts (e.g., communal vs. agentic)

in order to examine the functionality of positive emotions across the life span. Related to this,

there is a need to deepen our understanding of the age-differential functionality of positive vs.

negative emotions. For instance, Kunzmann et al. (2017) reported parallel age differences in

the experience and expression of anger and sadness. By contrast, in this study, age differences

in positive emotions were multidirectional and differed across the emotional response systems

considered. One explanation for this inconsistency might be that negative, but not positive,

emotions have evolved to provide fast and efficient responses in urgent and life-threatening

situations (e.g., Ekman, 1992; Levenson, 1999; Frederickson, 1998, 2001). Thus, such

situations request an emotionally congruent response. By contrast, positive emotions are

activated in save situations that typically are not particularly urgent, making a congruent

emotional response less essential and allowing age-differential factors to determine specific

emotional reaction systems in specific ways.

Fifth, a further aspect that may have affected our results is that older adults prefer low

arousal over high arousal positive emotions (e.g., Bjalkebring, Västefjäll, & Johansson, 2015;

Scheibe et al., 2013). In this vein, age differences might be a result of emotions differing in

arousal (e.g., excitement as high arousal emotion vs. contentment as low arousal emotion). To
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 27

address this issue, future studies should assess arousal and experimentally vary low and high

arousing emotions.

Sixth, our paradigm aimed at eliciting the target emotion joy / happiness making the

occurrence of complex emotions less likely (e.g., Ersner-Hershfield, Mikels, Sullivan, &

Carstensen, 2008). As a result, we only found low base rates of negative emotions in younger

and older adults when talking about their positive memories. However, age differences in the

experience of such emotions, for instance as in the case of bittersweet memories, would be an

interesting avenue for future research.

Finally, in our study, we took an initial step to explore the potential role of

conscientiousness on age differences in positive emotions. We used a time-efficient short-

measure of personality that serves as a rough, but valid and reliable proxy of

conscientiousness (e.g., Hahn, Gottschling, & Spinath, 2012). In additional analyses we were

also able to confirm its association with self-reported self-regulatory skills (cf., footnote 5).

However, research has shown that conscientiousness consists of different facets such as

impulse/self-control, orderliness, industriousness, and conventionality (e.g., Roberts et al.,

2005). It is possible that single facets do have a different impact on inner feelings versus outer

expressions and that these were obscured by the rather global assessment in our study. For

instance, impulse and self-control may be more important for outer expressions than

orderliness. Moreover, a more direct assessment of self-regulatory skills, their association

with conscientiousness and emotion regulation would further enhance the understanding of

underlying processes. Thus, future research is clearly needed that systematically compares

positive emotions of individuals scoring low and high on conscientiousness, applies

personality measures that differentiate various facets of conscientiousness, varies situational

affordances (e.g., low or high need of self-regulative abilities) and goals (e.g., manipulating

task instructions), and considers longitudinally the interplay between positive emotions and

conscientiousness.
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 28

Conclusion

The present study examined age differences in positive emotions combing a modified

relived emotion and a think-aloud task to guarantee comparable high subjective relevance.

Our findings suggest that the task used to elicit positive emotions and the reactions system

considered matters. Whereas younger and older adults experienced comparable levels of

positive feelings during the relived emotion task, older adults, in contrast to the young,

preserved their level of positive feelings when thinking aloud. However, contrary to our

expectations, older adults were facially and verbally less expressive than the young. With

conscientiousness we further found an initial indicator on the role of potential mechanisms

underlying age differences in positive emotions. To sum up, this study’s evidence for

multidirectional age differences in positive emotions is novel and certainly needs further

investigation. While our study point to the meaning of conscientiousness as one potential

explanation, further candidates for future research refer to the role of self-regulatory and

motivational processes, the impact of cognitive and health resources, and the differentiation of

distinct positive emotions.

Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 29

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Footnotes
1
Due to the crosssectional design of our study and accordant problems in the

interpretation of findings, we refrain from mediation analyses, but do inspect the accordant

correlational pattern (cf., Lindenberger, von Oertzen, Ghisletta, & Hertzog, 2011; Maxwell &

Cole, 2007).
2
LIWC identifies a second subcategory of affective processes, i.e. positive feelings, that

is relevant to our research question, but overlaps with the category positive emotions. In order

to enhance clarity of presentation we do not present results concerning this subcategory.

However, additional analyses with this variable led to comparable results.

3
Interrater agreement was also satisfying when considering age groups separately, i.e.

for ratings of younger adults during think-aloud task: occurrence of happiness κ = .64,

frequency of happiness expressions ICC = .76, intensity of happiness expressions ICC = .83;

and ratings of older adults: occurrence of happiness κ = .88, frequency of happiness

expressions ICC = .85, intensity of happiness expressions ICC = .94

4
In our analyses, we found no meaningful evidence for coherence across the response

systems considered. The majority of correlations is nonsignificant (all r ≤ .10), for the total

sample as well as for both age groups. Mauss and colleagues discuss causes for the mixed

empirical evidence on coherence and argue that coherence depends on factors such as the type

and intensity of the induced emotion, contextual demands, or methodological reasons (e.g.,

Mauss et al., 2005; Mauss & Robinson, 2009). Regarding the latter, the authors reason that

coherence may be less likely with retrospective and aggregated ratings as well as with

between-individuals-designs – all factors that apply to the paradigm we used and thus may

explain the lack of coherence among the reactions levels in our study.
5
We conducted additional analyses to ensure that conscientiousness reflects a proxy of

self- and emotion regulation skills. We found that conscientiousness was correlated with
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 43

uncontrolled expression (r = -.81, p < .001) and the empathic suppression of negative

emotions (r = .26, p < .001) as assessed by the Emotion Regulation Inventory (König, 2011).
6
Preliminary analyses indicated that (a) the assumption of normal distribution was

violated (as indicated by significant Shapiro-Wilk-tests) and (b) pointed to the existence of

outliers. We repeated our analyses using non-parametric tests and were able to verify all

results. We were also able to confirm our results after adjusting as well as excluding existing

outliers.
7
Additional analyses showed that responders and non-responders did not differ in the

length of narratives, F(1, 150) = 1.06, p = .304.

8
Analyses of the intensity of positive facial expressions were restricted to responders,

i.e. participants that facially expressed their emotions at least once.

9
There was only one protocol that contained no references on positive emotion (i.e.,

verbal non-responder). Rerunning the analyses without this non-responder did not change our

results.
10
Frequencies are comparable to other studies that used LIWC in order to analyze the

emotional content of autobiographical memories (e.g., Robertson & Hopko, 2013; Schryer et

al., 2012).
11
Gender was the only covariate with an impact on an outcome measure, namely

positive facial expressivity during the relived emotion task, F(1, 156) = 14.70, p < .01, ηp2 =

.04. In all sets of overall analyses, the following effects of covariates on outcome measures

during think-aloud task were observed: partnership status on verbal expressions, F(1, 159) =

6.10, p < .05, ηp2 = .04; as well as gender on frequency, F(1, 151) = 9.00, p < .01, η² = .06,

and intensity of facial expressions, F(1, 151) = 6.27, p < .05, ηp2 = .04.
Age Differences in Positive Emotions and Their Expression 44

Table 1. Sample description. N = 164

Younger Adults Older Adults

Δ Group differences
(n = 85) (n = 79)
M SD M SD
Age (in yrs.) 25.64 4.05 70.06 3.94

N % N %
Sex (= female) 43 (50.6) 39 (49.4) χ(1) = .02, p = .876

Education (D, = 32 (37.6) 60 (75.9) χ(1) = 24.39***

University degree)

Partnership status (D, = in 20 23.5 51 66.2 χ(1) = 28.07***

partnership)

Note. yrs. = years, D = Dummy.

*
p < .05.
**
p < .01.
***
p < .001.
Age Differences in Positive Feelings and Their Expression 45

Table 2. Content categories of narratives for younger and older adults.

Topics Examples Young Adults Old Adults

(n = 85) (n = 79)
Partnership beginning of a relationship, satisfaction 13 (15.5) 3 (3.8)
with partnership
Family birth of (grand)children, successes of 8 (9.5)a 25 (31.6)b
relatives, family reunions
Friendship gathering with friends, appreciation of 9 (10.7) 3 (3.8)
friendships
Job & Career graduation, mastering an exam, 26 (31.0)a 7 (8.9)b
occupational success, job acceptance
Personal achievements that are not occupational, 5 (6.0) 9 (11.4)
achievements but refer to arts or sports
Leisure travel, hiking, hobbies 10 (11.9) 11 (13.9)
Receiving gifts or buying a new car, receiving a birthday 5 (6.0) 10 (12.7)
buying sth. special gift
Else a new apartment, reminiscing about life 8 (9.5) 11 (13.9)
and personal development, recovery
Note. Number of events mentioned is displayed. Percentage is given in parentheses.

Different subscripts indicate significant differences as specified by standardized residuals

with values greater than 2.0.

Age Differences in Positive Emotions and Their Expression 46

Table 3. Ascribed Age-relevance of Topics as assessed in the supplementary web-based

study (N = 32).

Topics Relevance for Relevance for

F(1, 31)
younger adults older adults

M SD M SD

Partnership (k = 3) 4.26 0.60 3.05 0.49 73.44***

Family (k = 5) 2.67 0.59 4.09 0.38 143.00***

Friendship (k = 1) 4.22 0.75 4.41 0.56 1.67

Gathering with Friends and

3.97 0.97 4.7 0.63 14.68**
Family (k = 1)

Job & Career (k = 4) 4.31 0.48 1.36 0.55 434.09***

Personal achievements (k = 1) 4.38 0.75 2.75 0.95 57.57***

Leisure (k = 1) 4.28 0.85 3.91 0.78 2.61

Receiving gifts or buying sth.

3.61 0.73 2.50 0.68 43.04***
special (k = 2)

Note.
***
p < .001
**
p < .01
 47

Table 4. Multidimensional age differences on positive feelings and their expression

Relived emotion task Think-aloud task

Young Adults Old Adults Young Adults Old Adults
Δ Group differences
(n = 85) (n = 79) (n = 85) (n = 79)
M SD M SD M SD M SD

Subjective positive feelings F(1,162)task = 11.19, p < .01, ηp2 = .07

3.83 0.72 3.86 0.75 3.52 0.72 3.82 0.81 F(1,162)age = 2.63, p = .107
F(1,162)task x age = 6.75, p < .01, ηp2 = .04

Verbal expressions of F(1,160) = 7.77, p < .01, ηp2 = .05

- - - - 4.10 1.63 3.47 1.24
positive emotions

Facial expressions N % N % N % N %
Occurrence of happiness χ²(1) = 14.41, p < .001, χ²(1) = 12.12, p <
41 (48.8) 15 (20.0) 70 (87.5) 47 (63.5)
.01

M SD M SD M SD M SD
Frequency of happiness F(1,147)task = 85.91, p < .001, ηp2 = .37
0.72 0.89 0.27 0.59 6.66 7.06 4.30 6.34 F(1,162)age = 5.99, p < .05, ηp2 = .04
F(1,162)task x age = 3.15, p = .078
Intensity of happiness# F(1,54)relived emotion task = 2.26, p = .138
1.11 0.26 1.27 0.50 1.31 0.31 1.31 0.42
F(1,115)think-aloud task = 0.00, p = .969
#
Note. Analyses of intensity restricted to responders, i.e. happiness, during relived emotion task: n young adults = 41, n old adults = 15, and during think-

aloud task: n young adults = 70, n old adults = 47.

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