Seeking Pleasure and Seeking Pain: Differences in Prohedonic and Contra-Hedonic Motivation From Adolescence to Old Age

Abstract

Using a mobile-phone-based experience-sampling technology in a sample of 378 individuals ranging from 14 to 86 years of age, we investigated age differences in how people want to influence their feelings in their daily lives. Contra-hedonic motivations of wanting either to maintain or enhance negative affect or to dampen positive affect were most prevalent in adolescence, whereas prohedonic motivations of wanting either to maintain, but not enhance, positive affect or to dampen negative affect were most prevalent in old age. This pattern was mirrored by an age-related increase in self-reported day-to-day emotional well-being. Analyses of the emotional experiences that accompanied prohedonic and contra-hedonic motivations are consistent with the notions that contra-hedonic motivations are more likely to serve utilitarian than hedonic functions, and that people are more likely to be motivated to maintain negative affect when it is accompanied by positive affect. Implications for understanding affective development are discussed.

Is seeking bad mood cognitively demanding? Contra-hedonic orientation and working-memory capacity in everyday life.

“…Reports of currently not wanting to influence any of the six affect facets under investigation were only obtained in, on average, 7.42% of the measurements, SD ϭ 18.19. Elsewhere, we provided detailed information on the prevalence and affective contexts of pro-and contra-hedonic orientation in this study (Riediger, Schmiedek, Wagner, & Lindenberger, 2009). In this article, we focus on analyses of the prediction that contra-hedonic orientation is cognitively more demanding than pro-hedonic orientation.…”

“…When participants reported contra-hedonic orientations, they typically did so only for a subset of the six feelings we investigated here and mostly reported prohedonic orientations for one or more of the remaining ones. Contra-hedonic orientation, thus, was usually part of a complex orientation that involved multiple regulatory directions for different affect facets (for further information on the prevalence and affective contexts of pro-and contra-hedonic orientation in this sample, see Riediger et al, 2009). …”

Affect dynamics across the lifespan: With age, heart rate reacts less strongly, but recovers more slowly from unpleasant emotional situations.

“…After this second rest, participants rated their affective experience a third time. Participants always rated their momentary affective experiences using electronic questionnaires presented on mobile phones (Nokia E50), which participants knew from participation in a prior study (for details, see Riediger et al, 2009). Using mobile phones as assessment devices allowed participants to remain in supine posture throughout the whole task.…”

“…Regarding strengths, people are assumed to get better at regulating their affective states as they get older (Charles, 2010;Charles & Luong, 2013;Scheibe & BlanchardFields, 2010). Improved affect regulation should result from previous life experiences and motivational changes to maintain well-being (Carstensen & Charles, 1998;Charles, 2010;Riediger, Schmiedek, Wagner, & Lindenberger, 2009). Regarding vulnerabilities, people are assumed to become less physiologically resilient (Charles, 2010;Charles & Luong, 2013;Uchino, Birmingham, & Berg, 2010).…”

Daily variability in working memory is coupled with negative affect: The role of attention and motivation.

“…Future studies may take into consideration that there are interindividual and situational differences in what ideal affect is (Tamir, 2009;Tsai, 2007). For example, there are situations in which people are oriented toward contra-hedonic states (Riediger, Schmiedek, Wagner, & Lindenberger, 2009;Tamir, 2009). Such efforts can also be cognitively costly (Riediger et al, 2011).…”