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Young and Older Adults' Expression of Emotional Experience: Do Autobiographical Narratives Tell a Different Story?

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Abstract

Though autobiographical remembering is a common means of emotional expression in everyday life, rarely have autobiographical narratives been used to assess emotion. Studies rely instead on retrospective scalar measures. In this study, 87 young (M = 20) and older (M = 62) adults' scalar reports and narratives of the salience, frequency, and intensity of emotional reactions to the OJ Simpson verdict announcement were compared. Scalar measures and autobiographical narratives sometimes tell different stories about certain aspects of emotion. Supporting theory, scalars measures, and narratives both indicate greater salience of emotion in late life. In contrast to expectation, older adults more frequently expressed negative affect in their narratives, but not in scalars measures. Both types of measures did, however, show a higher intensity of sadness in older adults. Theories of emotion and aging may benefit from incorporating the role of memory, and reactions to specific negative life events.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

    Nicole Alea, Susan Bluck & Angelenia B. Semegon

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  1. Nicole Alea
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  2. Susan Bluck
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  3. Angelenia B. Semegon
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Alea, N., Bluck, S. & Semegon, A.B. Young and Older Adults' Expression of Emotional Experience: Do Autobiographical Narratives Tell a Different Story?. Journal of Adult Development 11, 235–250 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JADE.0000044527.52470.5d

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JADE.0000044527.52470.5d

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