# Cognitive Demands and Memory-Related Outcomes of Emotion Regulation Tactics Among Younger and Older Adults

## TL;DR

This study examines how younger and older adults use different emotion regulation tactics and their effects on cognitive demand and memory.

## Contribution

The study directly measures cognitive demand and memory outcomes of emotion regulation tactics across age groups.

## Key findings

- Self-reported cognitive demand varied across tactics, but pupillometry showed no significant differences.
- Positive-approaching was linked to the highest memory accuracy, while negative-receding had the lowest.
- Age group interactions were not significant, suggesting emotion regulation is not primarily driven by cognitive demand for older adults.

## Abstract

Older adults “paradoxically” report high emotional wellbeing despite declines in some cognitive abilities. The selection, optimization, and compensation with emotion regulation model (SOC-ER) suggests that older adults compensate for losses in cognitive resources by instead selecting and optimizing less cognitively-demanding (but effective) emotion regulation strategies. However, empirical evidence regarding which regulation behaviors are more cognitively demanding across the lifespan is limited. This study aimed to test the SOC-ER model by directly measuring the cognitive demand and outcomes of emotion regulation tactics. Younger (ages 18-25, N = 77) and older adults (ages 65+, N = 62) viewed blocks of negative images while instructed to use one regulation tactic per block: acceptance, positive-approaching, negative-receding, and negative-approaching. Cognitive demand was assessed for each tactic via self reports and pupillometry (a physiological measure of real time cognitive effort). Incidental memory for the stimuli was also assessed; participants completed a recognition memory test for all images presented during the regulation blocks. Results showed that while acceptance was self-reported as the least mentally demanding tactic and positive-approaching as the most, F(3,381)=3.655, p<.05, there was no significant difference in pupil dilation across tactics, F(3,351)=0.476, p=.699, ηp2=.004. Furthermore, positive-approaching was associated with the highest memory accuracy and negative-receding with the lowest, F(3,408)=13.90, p<.001, ηp2=.093. All interactions with age group were nonsignificant. Overall, the SOC-ER model was minimally supported, suggesting that older adults’ emotion regulation behaviors are not primarily driven by cognitive demand concerns.

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12760287