The emotional regulation advantages of older adults: insights from the dissociation between emotional regulation and dual-processing mechanisms

There is still some debate regarding whether older adults have a superior ability to regulate emotions compared to younger people. This study examines both explicit and implicit aspects of emotional regulation and finds that such advantages are not universal among older adults, but rather depend on specific strategies used. In terms of explicit regulation, older adults can effectively utilize strategies with low cognitive demands, such as attention distribution and positive re-evaluation. These strategies yield better or comparable results compared to younger individuals. However, when using strategies with high cognitive demands, such as separation re-evaluation, the effectiveness of regulation decreases. Brain activity shows a reduction in activation in the left lateral prefrontal lobe, while functional connections reveal a shift from the lateral to the medial prefrontal lobe. In terms of implicit regulation, older adults…