Explaining age differences in the memory-experience gap.

ABSTRACT: Emotions and symptoms are often overestimated in retrospective ratings, a phenomenon referred to as the "memory-experience gap." Some research has shown that this gap is less pronounced among older compared to younger adults for self-reported negative affect, but it is not known whether these age differences are evident consistently across domains of well-being and why these age differences emerge. In this study, we examined age differences in the memory-experience gap for emotional (positive and negative affect), social (loneliness), and physical (pain, fatigue) well-being. We also tested four variables that could plausibly explain age differences in the gap: (a) episodic memory and executive functioning, (b) the age-related positivity effect, (c) variability of daily experiences, and (d)

SUBMITTER: Junghaenel DU 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8442980 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature