Reference
Laura L. Carstensen, Kevin Chi (2021), Emotion and prosocial giving in older adults. Nature Aging, vol. 1, October 2021, pp. 866-867.
Abstract
The article by Lara L. Carstensen and Kevin Chi, from the Department of Psychology at Stanford University, aims to draw insights from the enormous amount of data collected by Jo Cutler and colleagues (2021) on a relevant aspect of emotionality in the elderly population: prosocial giving.
Context
In 2020, during the pandemic, Cutler and colleagues conducted an experimental study through online interviews on a sample of 46,576 Americans. The participants were grouped by age, which ranged from 18 to 99 years old, in order to examine altruistic tendencies according to age. The literature suggests that, on average, greater emotional stability is achieved in the elderly. Compared to a younger adult population, older people are more satisfied with their interpersonal relationships, more willing to forgive, and more willing to resolve conflicts. This also translates, for example, into unpaid voluntary work and personal assistance, as shown in two American surveys conducted in 2021. Neuroscientific studies also confirm this trend: in the older brains, compared with younger samples, images of charitable gestures mobilize more of the neural circuits involved in the reward system.
The study
The theory of socio-emotional selectivity, proposed by Carstensen herself in 2006, links these age-related tendencies (i.e. greater altruism and greater emotional satisfaction) with an awareness of shorter life expectancy. By aging, our life horizon inexorably narrows. Awareness of this leads most people to reconsider the order of their own priorities, which are more oriented to the present than the future. There is a tendency, therefore, to invest in actions and goals that bring greater satisfaction and emotional enrichment. Such actions and goals are no longer projected into time but are directed towards the present. One of the ways to fulfil this new configuration of emotional needs and personal values is, in fact, by committing to acts of generosity and assistance aimed at the community. Or more precisely – as Carstensen and Chi’s interpretative analysis suggests – towards one’s local community.
Outcomes’ Analysis
The importance of local altruism clearly emerged from the investigation by Cutler and colleagues, who asked questions directly related to charitable actions aimed at tackling the pandemic crisis, even at the risk of contracting the virus. From this point of view, the results of Cutler’s investigation speak for themselves and it can be said that the elderly are more altruistic than the young, even in conditions of potential risk. However, there is a marked preference for helping local people and associations, or those belonging to the same community.
Limits
Given the methodological flaws of the large survey, whose results could be biased by the cohort effect, Carstensen and Chi point out that these empirical data are compatible with the theory of social-emotional selectivity. It is indeed understandable – for those who want to make emotionally meaningful sense of their present – to help people who are closest to their circle of acquaintances.
Future Perspectives
The subject of prosocial behavior in old age is anything but marginal in the science of aging. As the authors point out, it will certainly have a strong social and environmental impact. It must also be considered that, by 2050, the number of persons over 65 will have doubled in the world. As is well known, 2050 also marks a milestone in the century for overcoming or succumbing to climate change. Promoting a less local and more global kind of altruism, therefore, could be a crucial factor of resilience.
References
Cutler J. et al. (2021). Older adults across the globe exhibit increased prosocial behavior but also greater in-group preferences. Nature Aging
Carstensen L.L. (2006). The influence of a sense of time on human development, Science, 312(5782): 1913-1915.
Hubbard J., Harbaugh W.T., Srivastava S., Degras D., Mayr U. (2016). A General Benevolence Dimension That Links Neural, Psychological, Economic, and Life-Span Data on Altruistic Tendencies. Journal of Experimental Psychology, vol. 145(10): 1351-1358.
Edited by Emiliano Loria
