Happily distracted: mood and a benefit of attention dysregulation in older adults
Positive mood states are believed to broaden the focus of attention in younger adults, but it is unclear whether the same is true for older adults. Here we examined one consequence of broader attention that has been shown in young adults: that memory for distraction is greater for those in a posit...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2012-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00399/full |
| _version_ | 1798043979325898752 |
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| author | Renée K. Biss Renée K. Biss Jennifer C. Weeks Jennifer C. Weeks Lynn eHasher Lynn eHasher |
| author_facet | Renée K. Biss Renée K. Biss Jennifer C. Weeks Jennifer C. Weeks Lynn eHasher Lynn eHasher |
| author_sort | Renée K. Biss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Positive mood states are believed to broaden the focus of attention in younger adults, but it is unclear whether the same is true for older adults. Here we examined one consequence of broader attention that has been shown in young adults: that memory for distraction is greater for those in a positive mood. In the current study, positive and neutral moods were induced in older adults (mean age = 67.9) prior to a 1-back task in which participants were instructed to attend to relevant pictures and ignore distracting words. Following a 10-min filled interval, participants performed a word fragment completion task that tested implicit memory for the distracting words from the 1-back task. Older adults in the positive mood group showed greater implicit memory for previous distraction compared to those in the neutral mood group. These findings suggest that affect influences the ability to regulate attention in a similar manner for younger and older adults. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:56:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bc3dc8642e0b48f38be6bde8bb51c455 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:56:33Z |
| publishDate | 2012-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-bc3dc8642e0b48f38be6bde8bb51c4552022-12-22T03:58:24ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782012-10-01210.3389/fpsyg.2012.0039928313Happily distracted: mood and a benefit of attention dysregulation in older adultsRenée K. Biss0Renée K. Biss1Jennifer C. Weeks2Jennifer C. Weeks3Lynn eHasher4Lynn eHasher5University of TorontoRotman Research Institute of Baycrest CentreUniversity of TorontoRotman Research Institute of Baycrest CentreUniversity of TorontoRotman Research Institute of Baycrest CentrePositive mood states are believed to broaden the focus of attention in younger adults, but it is unclear whether the same is true for older adults. Here we examined one consequence of broader attention that has been shown in young adults: that memory for distraction is greater for those in a positive mood. In the current study, positive and neutral moods were induced in older adults (mean age = 67.9) prior to a 1-back task in which participants were instructed to attend to relevant pictures and ignore distracting words. Following a 10-min filled interval, participants performed a word fragment completion task that tested implicit memory for the distracting words from the 1-back task. Older adults in the positive mood group showed greater implicit memory for previous distraction compared to those in the neutral mood group. These findings suggest that affect influences the ability to regulate attention in a similar manner for younger and older adults.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00399/fullAginginhibitionpositive affectmooddistractionattention regulation |
| spellingShingle | Renée K. Biss Renée K. Biss Jennifer C. Weeks Jennifer C. Weeks Lynn eHasher Lynn eHasher Happily distracted: mood and a benefit of attention dysregulation in older adults Frontiers in Psychology Aging inhibition positive affect mood distraction attention regulation |
| title | Happily distracted: mood and a benefit of attention dysregulation in older adults |
| title_full | Happily distracted: mood and a benefit of attention dysregulation in older adults |
| title_fullStr | Happily distracted: mood and a benefit of attention dysregulation in older adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | Happily distracted: mood and a benefit of attention dysregulation in older adults |
| title_short | Happily distracted: mood and a benefit of attention dysregulation in older adults |
| title_sort | happily distracted mood and a benefit of attention dysregulation in older adults |
| topic | Aging inhibition positive affect mood distraction attention regulation |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00399/full |
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