Inhibitory control and its relationship to positivity biases in older adults

Abstract

Older adults tend to focus on positive information over negative information; a phenomenon commonly referred to as the ‘positivity effect’. Socioemotional Selectivity Theory posits that this effect stems from age-related shifts in goals and relies heavily on the active suppression of negative information. The current study tested the hypothesis that inhibitory control is a key determinant of positivity biases in older adults using anti-saccade and recognition memory tasks. Results indicated a significant correlation between levels of inhibitory control and the positivity effect. These findings highlight the key role played by inhibitory control in determining positivity biases amongst older adults.