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. 2010 May;17(3):296-311.
doi: 10.1080/13825580903265681. Epub 2009 Nov 4.

Positive gaze preferences in older adults: assessing the role of cognitive effort with pupil dilation

Eric S Allard  1 , Heather A Wadlinger, Derek M Isaacowitz
Affiliations

Positive gaze preferences in older adults: assessing the role of cognitive effort with pupil dilation

Eric S Allard et al. Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn. 2010 May.

Abstract

Older adults display positive preferences in their gaze, consistent with their prioritization of emotion regulation goals. While some research has argued that substantial amounts of cognitive effort are necessary for these information-processing preferences to occur, other work suggests that these attentional patterns unfold with minimal cognitive exertion. The current study used an implicit regulatory context (i.e., viewing facial stimuli of varying emotions) to assess how much cognitive effort was required for positive attentional preferences to occur. Effortful cognitive processing was assessed with a direct measure of change in pupil dilation. Results indicated that minimal cognitive effort was expended when older adults engaged in positive gaze preferences. This finding suggests that gaze acts as a rather effortless and economical regulatory tool for individuals to shape their affective experience.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Change in pupil dilation as a function of emotional valence type across age while viewing emotional-neutral face pairs. Note. Error bars reflect standard error.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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