Abstract for November 26, 2006 CCS Colloquium
Aging and Motivated Gaze: The View from the Gazer
Derek M. Isaacowitz, Brandeis University
Gaze toward emotional material varies by age. In this talk, I will first review evidence from eye tracking studies showing that older adults gaze preferentially toward positively-valenced stimuli and away from negatively-valenced stimuli. Next, I will present several lines of evidence illustrating that these age differences are rooted in specific motivational shifts rather than being artifacts of more general age-related changes. While older adults show gaze patterns consistent with a motivation to optimize positive affect, gaze may also serve a more general motivational purpose across adulthood. Current work involves delineating the specific time course of age-related motivational effects on gaze, contrasting age effects on selective and divided attention for emotional stimuli, and assessing whether training can alter gaze preferences. |
