The Role of Age and Time Horizons in Affect–Meaning Relations

Extant research has demonstrated robust positive relations between positive affect (PA) and meaning, although the strength of this relationship has been found to vary as a function of both chronological age and time horizon (Hicks et al., 2012). This can be explained by the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST), which posits that both older adults and those with a limited time horizon (i.e., perceive less time remaining in life) tend to focus on emotional goals over knowledge goals. In the current paper, I sought to extend SST’s findings to the level of activities by examining how chronological age, time horizon (both existing and manipulated), and one’s focus on emotional/knowledge goals influenced the strength of the relationship between the enjoyableness and meaningfulness of specific activities. These hypotheses were tested using an older adult sample from the Singapore Life Panel (Study 1) and a younger adult sample from SMU (Study 2). Although none of the hypothesized relations received support, interesting relations were uncovered through exploratory analyses that examined specific activities in terms of their experiential qualities, and the joint effects of positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) on activity-related meaning perceptions. In older adults, I found that for those with a limited time horizon, high-PA activities were less meaningful when also accompanied by NA. In contrast, for those with an expansive time horizon, high-PA activities remained meaningful even when accompanied by NA. In younger adults, I found that those with a focus on emotional goals experienced less meaning from uniformly negative activities compared to those who focused on knowledge goals. Theoretical and practical implications of the current study are discussed.

SPEAKER

Mr Keh Jun Sheng
PhD Candidate in Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Singapore Management University

CHAIR

William Tov
Associate Professor of Psychology
Deputy Director, Centre for Research on Successful Ageing (ROSA)
School of Social Sciences
Singapore Management University

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Yang Hwajin
Associate Professor of Psychology
PGR Director
Lee Kong Chian Fellow
School of Social Sciences
Singapore Management University

Ivy Lau
Associate Professor of Psychology (Education)
Associate Dean (Student Matters & Alumni Affairs)
School of Social Sciences
Singapore Management University

EXTERNAL MEMBER

Ng Wei Ting
Associate Professor
Head, Master of Applied Research in Social Sciences (MRESS)
School of Humanities and Behavioural Sciences
Singapore University of Social Sciences