human behaviour reinforcement techniques

1. Social Interaction and Social Ties
March 7, 2024

2. Last Week:
• Cognitive Stage Model, revised model
• Formal thinking vs. Postformal thinking
• Wisdom
• Evidence of wisdom with age
• Triarchic theory of intelligence
• Processes of creativity
• Social cognition

3. Questions of the Week
1. What is Socioemotional Selectivity
Theory (SST)?
2. What is the pattern of marital satisfaction
across the lifespan?
3. What are examples of categories of
sibling relationships?

4. Social Ties
In older adulthood…
• Social Networks:
Size Type Frequency
Family > Friends
It depends!
family vs. friends
(influenced by factors
like personality)

5. Early Theories on Age and Social Interaction
• Activity theory
– Older adults substitute new roles when old ones are lost (e.g.,
volunteer work)
– Older adults who do this successfully enjoy high life
satisfaction
• Disengagement theory
– Older adults voluntarily withdraw from earlier roles
– Society withdraws from older adults
– Mutual withdrawal is beneficial to both parties
– Older adults allowed to withdraw experience high life
satisfaction

6. Socioemotional Selectivity Theory
(Carstensen)
• A newer life-span model proposes that reduced
social interaction in older adulthood reflects a
lifelong selection process
– Close relationships maintained, superficial ones filtered out
• Two main motives (goals) for social interaction
– Information seeking (more important in earlier life and calls
for novel social interactions)
– Emotional regulation (more important later in life and calls
for familiar social interactions; older adults place great
importance on positive feelings through interactions)

7. Socioemotional Selectivity Theory
(Carstensen)

8. SST Evidence
Cognitive Social
• Greater attention to
& memory of
positive stimuli
• More selectivity,
maintain ties with
partners who
enhance emotional
well-being and
positive evaluations
of children

9. Cognitive SST Evidence
Mather & Carstensen (2003)
1. Dot-Probe Task:
Negative-Neutral
Positive-Neutral
2. Memory Task
52 Younger Adults (18-35); 52 Older Adults (62-94)
Face Pairs:

10. Cognitive SST Evidence
Attention = speed when indicating which side of the
screen the dot had appeared
Younger Adults: No differences across face type
Older Adults:
• Faster when dot was in location of positive vs.
neutral face
• Slower when dot was in location of negative
vs. neutral face
1. Dot-Probe Task:

11. Cognitive SST Evidence
Memory = correctly identifying if a face was shown
in the dot-probe task
Younger Adults: No differences across face type
Older Adults:
• Better memory for positive faces vs. negative
faces
2. Memory Task:

12. Cognitive SST Evidence Summary
Older adults show cognitive preferences for
positive stimuli through:
1. Faster reaction times to
positive faces
2. Increased recognition of
positive faces

13. Social SST Evidence
O’Connor, Lyon, & Evans (2019)
Child
Interview
Video
x 8
1. How credible was the child?
2. How honest was the child?
3. How competent would the child be to testify in court?
100 Younger Adults (18-30); 100 Older Adults (66-89)

14. Social SST Evidence
1
2
3
4
5
6
Credibility Honesty Can Testify
Students Seniors
*
*
*

15. SST Evidence Summary
Attention
Memory
1. Faster reaction times
to happy faces
2. Increased recognition of
happy faces
3. More positive
ratings of children’s capabilities
4. More positive ratings of
relationships with own children
– intergenerational stake
hypothesis
Appraisals
Cognitive
Social

16. Important Reminder on SST
Age on its own is NOT the explanation… it is
all about time perspective…(which is often
closely linked to one’s age). “Time limited” à
shift to emotional goals
When examining younger adults who live
with limited time (e.g., serious illness,
moving soon), responses align with the
patterns from older adults

17. Social Selectivity in Rhesus Monkeys
Population of rhesus macaques followed longitudinally
until old age. Social interactions (tracked over time)
measured through grooming interactions and social
proximity.
Siracusa et al. (2022)

18. Social Selectivity in Rhesus Monkeys
• More social selectivity with old age
• Decrease in number of proximity partners was rank dependent
(strongest in lower ranking individuals; greater need to
increase fitness)
Siracusa et al. (2022)

19. Social Selectivity in Rhesus Monkeys
• No overall change in
social engagement with
age (i.e., increased
selectivity when it comes
to interactions)
Siracusa et al. (2022)

20. Social Selectivity in Rhesus Monkeys
• Increased focus on
important relationships
(ones that can
presumably increase
fitness)
Siracusa et al. (2022)

21. Social Exchange Theory
• Social interactions have both rewards (positive
feelings) and costs (unpleasant feelings)
• A social interaction is balanced if two partners
have an equal desire for it
• In an unbalanced interaction, one partner has
more power and the less powerful partner may
withdraw
– Power tends to increase from young adulthood
through late middle age, then sharp decline in old age

22. Relationships in Later Life
1. Marriage
2. Grandparenthood
3. Siblings

23. Upswing hypothesis of marital satisfaction:
• Fewer disagreements
• When disagree, show
less emotional affect
• Older couples show
better emotional
regulation

24. Marital Satisfaction
• Upswing hypothesis
– Marital satisfaction is highest early, dips with arrival of children,
but later on shows an increase
• Marital interactions
– Older couples have fewer disagreements than middle-aged
couples
– When they do disagree, older couples show less emotional
affect than middle-aged couples
– We know most about heterosexual couples and less about
same-sex couples
– In later adulthood, satisfaction may depend on health, work
status, and pre-existing strengths and vulnerabilities in the
relationship

25. Does marriage protect against distress?
Hagedoorn et al. (2006)
• Married older couples: distress & happiness
vs. single people
• Marriage protection (financial stability, housing)?
Selection (happier people more likely to get
married)? Loss (recent loss of loved one)?

26. Does marriage protect against distress?
Marital Status Distress
Older Adults (65+)
• Married
• Always single
• Widowed (now single)
Equity of Marriage
“Who is getting a better deal?”

27. Does marriage protect against distress?
Married Distress
Equity of Marriage
• If marriage was not equal:
• More distress than always single
• More distress than long-term widows

28. • It can be, depending on the quality of the marriage
• Why?
– Environmental: financial resources
– Social: companionship
– Psychological: self-esteem
• BUT: Always single (not divorced or widowed) reported
similar level of happiness as couples in an equitable
relationship (argues against marriage protection, but this
can also be due to biased sample of always single
people)
So…does marriage protect against distress?

29. Grandparenthood
• working mothers ( grandparenthood responsibility)
• life expectancy (more likely to become grandparents)
• But… age of parenthood
• Different grandparenting styles
• Remote (emotionally distant and formal, live far away)
• Companionate (engage in pleasurable activities with
grandchildren, avoid disciplining)
• Involved (care for grandchildren, sometimes full-time)
Roles are changing:

30. Sandwich generation
• Care for older parents and own children
• Particularly middle-aged women

31. • A rise in help from relatives (often grandparents)
• Especially for…
– Families with children < 5 years
– Grandparents (especially grandmothers) who are
retired
• Helpful for…
– Working mothers (can work longer hours to earn
higher incomes)
• But concentrated to mothers with higher levels of education
The changing availability of grandparents in the
UK (Gray, 2005)
1991-2000

32. Sibling Relationships
• Hourglass effect
– Ties are strongest earlier in life, weaken in early and
middle adulthood, but are reactivated in later years
• Hierarchical compensatory model
– Older adults turn to siblings for help when spouse or
adult children unavailable

33. Categories of Sibling Relationships
(Gold)
• Intimate siblings
– Regular contact and visits, intimacy
• Congenial siblings
– Strong friendship + caring, weekly/monthly contact
– Emotional ties not as deep except in times of stress
– Name spouse as person they are closest to
• Loyal siblings
– Bond based on family background
– Little contact (weddings, funerals)
– Rarely exchange emotional support (but help in desperate situations)
• Apathetic siblings
– Not close or interested in taking responsibility for each other, indifference, years with no contact
• Hostile siblings
– Go out of their way to avoid each other, disdain and anger (e.g., dispute over inheritance)

34. Elder Abuse
• Harmful behavior toward older adults by formal or informal
caregivers the older adult trusts or depends upon
• Occurs among all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups and in
domestic and institutional settings
• Typical abuse victim is a woman aged 75 or over, in frail health,
often with cognitive difficulties
• Often perpetrated by a family member such as a spousal caregiver
who carries the entire burden alone
• Risk is highest when: living in the same household, low self-esteem,
and when person being cared for is physically aggressive

35. Elder Abuse and Neglect
• Physical abuse
– Infliction of pain / discomfort
• Sexual abuse
– Unwanted non-consensual sexual contact
• Psychological/emotional abuse
– Intentional infliction of mental anguish, provoking fear
• Neglect and self-neglect
– Failure to provide older adult’s needs
• Material/financial abuse
– Illegal or improper exploitation of property

36. Questions of the Week- Revisited
1. What is Socioemotional Selectivity
Theory (SST)?
2. What is the pattern of marital satisfaction
across the lifespan?
3. What are examples of categories of
sibling relationships?