Good Mood, Bad Mood – Does Age Matter?

On average, older adults report better emotional well-being in their everyday lives than younger adults. The underlying mechanisms still remain largely unknown. Studies at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development show that motivational processes play a role in this respect. Older adults experience motivational conflicts in their everyday life less frequently than younger people. Also, older adults attempt to optimize their well-being more often than younger individuals, whereas adolescents are more often inclined to subdue positive, or even intensify negative feelings than adults.