After providing an introductory overview of socioemotional selectivity theory, we review empirical evidence for its basic postulates and consider the implications of the predicted cognitive and behavioral changes for physical health. The main assertion of socioemotional selectivity theory is that when boundaries on time are perceived, present-oriented goals related to emotional meaning are prioritized over future-oriented goals aimed at acquiring information and expanding horizons. Such motivational changes, which are strongly correlated with chronological age, systematically influence social preferences, social network composition, emotion regulation, and cognitive processing. On the one hand, there is considerable reason to believe that such changes are good for well-being and social adjustment. On the other hand, the very same motivational changes may limit health-related information-seeking and influence attention, memory, and decision-making such that positive material is favored over negative information. Grounding our arguments in socioemotional selectivity theory, we consider possible ways to tailor contexts such that disadvantages are avoided.

http://longevity3.stanford.edu/family-decision-making/files/2015/03/Carstensen.pdf

Disengagement: A tentative theory of aging.

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, Aging, and Health: The Increasingly Delicate Balance Between Regulating Emotions and Making Tough Choices

As the population ages and more people are living alone, social isolation amongst older people is emerging as one of the major issues facing the industrialised world because of the adverse impact it can have on health and wellbeing. This article reviews the empirical literature published over the last 20 years on the effectiveness of interventions that target social isolation amongst older people. The results reveal that although numerous such interventions have been implemented worldwide, there is very little evidence to show that they work. It is concluded that future intervention programmes aimed at reducing social isolation should have evaluation built into them at inception, and that the results of the evaluation studies, whether positive or negative, should be widely disseminated. Where possible, as a cost-effective measure, pilot or demonstration projects should precede these interventions. Some key elements of successful interventions to counter social isolation amongst older people are presented.

Additional excerpts

https://lemosandcrane.co.uk/resources/Ageing%20and%20Society%20-%20Interventions%20to%20reduce%20social%20isolation%20amongst%20older%20people%20-%20where%20is%20the%20evidence.pdf

Interventions to reduce social isolation amongst older people: where is the evidence?

Literature pertaining to the effects of age differences indicates that elderly individuals and younger adults process information differently. Age differences result in a complex set of changes in ...

Age Differences in Information Processing: A Perspective on the Aged Consumer:

The 2 main objectives of this article are to review a variety of literatures in which the concept of compensation is used and to integrate the results of this review into a general framework of compensation. The review focuses on 4 domains of psychological inquiry: compensation for sensory handicaps, cognitive deficits, interpersonal losses, and brain injury. In the proposed framework, underlying dimensions and 4 basic steps in the progression of compensatory behavior are distinguished. The latter include origins, mechanisms, forms, and consequences. Finally, we describe ways in which researchers in particular domains can benefit from the global, process-oriented framework we propose. For most of the areas of compensation research reviewed, investigators can profit from a consideration of a broader selection of dimensions, additional steps in the process, alternative outcomes, and both objective and subjective assessment procedures.

Disengagement: A tentative theory of aging.

Citations

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, Aging, and Health: The Increasingly Delicate Balance Between Regulating Emotions and Making Tough Choices

Interventions to reduce social isolation amongst older people: where is the evidence?

Age Differences in Information Processing: A Perspective on the Aged Consumer:

Psychological compensation: a theoretical framework.

Aging Labels: The Decline of Control and the Fall of Self-Esteem

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