ResumoExaminou-se indicadores psicométricos do Questionário de Regulação Emocional (QRE) e suas relações com medidas de experiência afetiva, satisfação com a vida e depressão em idosos. Cento e cinquenta e três idosos (M= 66,8 anos; DP=±5,20, 71,2% feminino) Teorias life-span em psicologia têm apontado a saliên-cia das emoções como recurso adaptativo às mudanças do envelhecimento. Teorias motivacionais-emocionais propõem ganhos relacionados ao aumento da idade em metas e estratégias emocionais que visam otimizar o bemestar (Carstensen, Isaacowitz, & Charles, 1999;Kennedy, Mather, & Carstensen, 2004). Anteriormente descrito como um fenômeno paradoxal ("paradoxo do bem-estar na velhice"; Lawton, Kleban, Rajagopal, & Dean 1992), os altos níveis de bem-estar relatados por idosos, mesmo no contexto de perdas e declínios normativos, atualmente tem sido interpretados à luz da interseção entre emoções e cognição nos processos adaptativos de seleção, otimização e compensação de déficits.O estudo de Lawton e colaboradores (1992) foi um dos primeiros a revelar que idosos diferiam dos mais jovens quanto às habilidades de influenciar a ocorrência e o conteúdo das emoções. Após esses primeiros estudos, uma série de outros evidenciam que idosos são mais propensos a relatar maior controle emocional, principalmente regular a experiência interna de estados negativos como a raiva e da expressão externa de felicidade e tristeza (Blanchard-Fields, Stein, & T. L. Watson, 2004;Gross et al., 1997).Scheibe e Carstensen (2010), em artigo de revisão, apontaram evidências da interseção entre emoções e cognição por meio do chamado "efeito de positividade" (na atenção, memória e tomada de decisões) baseando-se

The objective of the study was to identify correlations between beliefs, perceptions, and concepts about old age and personal experience of aging among older persons attending a public university for the third age. Participants were 256 older adults with a mean age of 67 Ϯ 5.54 years, 69% female. The study protocol included sociodemographic data, the Beliefs Toward aging scale, and tailored questions to assess perceptions of old age and personal aging and concepts regarding a good old age. There was a trend toward positive and neutral beliefs; the assigned age for the beginning of old age was 68 years; participants did not identify with being old; notions of a good old age were associated with physical health, good personal relationships, expectations for the future, and satisfaction with life. The multivariate analysis indicated two significantly distinct groups in terms of age, beliefs, and concepts of good old age. On an individual level, the study participants failed to acknowledge their own aging.

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Studies show that aging is accompanied by decline in cognitive functions but also indicate that interventions, such as training on electronic games, can enhance performance and promote maintenance of cognitive abilities in healthy older adults.ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of an electronic game program, called Actively Station, on the performance of global cognition of adults aged over 50 years.Methods124 mature and elderly adults enrolled in the "Actively Station" cognitive stimulation program of São Caetano do Sul City, in the State of São Paulo, participated in training for learning of electronic games. Participants were divided into two groups: training group (TG) n=102 and control group (CG) n=22. Protocol: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R), the Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q), the scale of frequency of forgetfulness, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI), the Global Satisfaction with Life Scale, and two scales on learning in the training.ResultsThe cognitive performance of the TG improved significantly after the program, particularly in the domains of language and memory, and there was a decrease on the anxiety index and frequency of memory complaints, when compared to the CG.ConclusionThese findings suggest that the acquisition of new knowledge and the use of new stimuli, such as electronic games, can promote improvements in cognition and mood and reduce the frequency of memory complaints.

There is scant research evidence regarding training effects among elderly with limited educational experience. Research indicating an association between metamemory and memory performance is based on samples of older adults with at least 12 years of education.ObjectivesTo test the efficacy of a cognitive training program based on the creation of mental images and changes in specific aspects of metamemory in individuals with 3 to 15 years of education (M=8.38, SD=4.24).Methods37 older adults participated in five training sessions (Training Group (TG)) and 32 control subjects completed only pre and post test assessments (Control Group (CG)) including the Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB)(naming and memorization of 10 pictures, animal category verbal fluency test, the Clock Drawing Test (CDT)), the Story subtest from the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT), the Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q), and the Picture and Story domains from the Memory Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (MSEQ).ResultsThe TG showed significant improvement between pre and post tests on the delayed recall of the 10 pictures and in self-efficacy for the memorization of stories. These same changes were not found in the CG.ConclusionsFive-session cognitive training may lead to significant improvements in episodic memory and memory self-efficacy, an aspect of metamemory, in individuals with an average of 8 years of education.