2025 Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 41-46
The present narrative review explored the process of affective aging by examining the changes and adaptation in emotional experiences during adult development. In his early work, Banham (1951) highlighted decreases in emotional intensity and reactivity with age and proposed a genetic perspective. The Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST) and Strength and Vulnerability Integration Model (SAVI) explain that older adults prioritize emotionally meaningful goals and regulate their emotions more effectively despite biological decline, which contributes to the “aging paradox.” Recent research on the psychological constructivism of emotions suggests that emotions emerge from bodily sensations, mainly interoception, rather than fixed categories, offering new insights into age-related emotional changes. Additionally, older adults engage broader neural networks to compensate for age-related decline in interoception. This study integrates insights from the SST, SAVI, and psychological constructivism to enhance the understanding of the process of affective aging. Future research should emphasize the need for precise measures of interoception in old age and explore the role of physiological changes in emotional experiences and regulation during adult development.
