TY - JOUR
T1 - Responding to the emotions of others
T2 - Age differences in facial expressions and age-specific associations with relational connectedness
AU - Lwi, Sandy J.
AU - Haase, Claudia M.
AU - Shiota, Michelle N.
AU - Newton, Scott L.
AU - Levenson, Robert W.
N1 - Funding Information:
The research was supported by National Institute on Aging grants R01 AG041762 and P01 AG019724 to Robert W. Levenson, and Bruce L. Miller. We thank Michael D. Edge for his help with analyses and for his helpful comments on all versions of the article, Deepak Paul for his help with data processing, and Emily Ma and Michelle Pardo for their assistance with coding emotional facial expressions. Sandy J. Lwi, Claudia M. Haase, and Robert W. Levenson developed the study concept. Scott L. Newton performed the facial coding, Sandy J. Lwi processed the data, and both Sandy J. Lwi and Claudia M. Haase analyzed the data. Sandy J. Lwi wrote the first draft of the article, and all authors contributed to revisions of the article. Robert W. Levenson supervised all phases of the project.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Psychological Association.
PY - 2019/12
Y1 - 2019/12
N2 - Responding prosocially to the emotion of others may become increasingly important in late life, especially as partners and friends encounter a growing number of losses, challenges, and declines. Facial expressions are important avenues for communicating empathy and concern, and for signaling that help is forthcoming when needed. In a study of young, middle-aged, and older adults, we measured emotional responses (facial expressions, subjective experience, and physiological activation) to a sad, distressing film clip and a happy, uplifting film clip. Results revealed that, relative to younger adults, older adults showed more sadness and confusion/concern facial expressions during the distressing film clip. Moreover, for older adults only, more sadness and fewer disgust facial expressions during the distressing film clip were associated with higher levels of relational connectedness. These findings remained stable when accounting for subjective emotional experience, physiological activation, and trait empathy in response to the film clip. When examining the uplifting film clip, older adults showed more happiness facial expressions relative to younger adults at trend levels. More facial expressions of happiness were associated with higher levels of relational connectedness, but unlike the effect of sadness expressions, this was not moderated by age. These findings underscore an important adaptive social function of facial expressions-particularly in response to the distress of others-in late life.
AB - Responding prosocially to the emotion of others may become increasingly important in late life, especially as partners and friends encounter a growing number of losses, challenges, and declines. Facial expressions are important avenues for communicating empathy and concern, and for signaling that help is forthcoming when needed. In a study of young, middle-aged, and older adults, we measured emotional responses (facial expressions, subjective experience, and physiological activation) to a sad, distressing film clip and a happy, uplifting film clip. Results revealed that, relative to younger adults, older adults showed more sadness and confusion/concern facial expressions during the distressing film clip. Moreover, for older adults only, more sadness and fewer disgust facial expressions during the distressing film clip were associated with higher levels of relational connectedness. These findings remained stable when accounting for subjective emotional experience, physiological activation, and trait empathy in response to the film clip. When examining the uplifting film clip, older adults showed more happiness facial expressions relative to younger adults at trend levels. More facial expressions of happiness were associated with higher levels of relational connectedness, but unlike the effect of sadness expressions, this was not moderated by age. These findings underscore an important adaptive social function of facial expressions-particularly in response to the distress of others-in late life.
KW - Aging
KW - Facial expressions
KW - Loneliness
KW - Relational connectedness
KW - Sadness
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U2 - 10.1037/emo0000534
DO - 10.1037/emo0000534
M3 - Article
C2 - 30730167
AN - SCOPUS:85061076136
VL - 19
SP - 1437
EP - 1449
JO - Emotion
JF - Emotion
SN - 1528-3542
IS - 8
ER -