ArticleCurrent directions in psychological science2021
Beyond stereotypes: Using socioemotional selectivity theory to improve messaging to older adults.
Article in Current directions in psychological science, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 237 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
237 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Factors Influencing eHealth Literacy Worldwide: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- The uncanny valley effect in embodied conversational agents: a critical systematic review of attractiveness, anthropomorphism, and uncanniness.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Work engagement among older workers: a systematic review.Journal of occupational health · 2024Pooled it
- The Holistic Life-Crafting Model: a systematic literature review of meaning-making behaviors.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- The psychology of the internet fraud victimization of older adults: A systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- The Stability and Change of Loneliness Across the Life Span: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies.Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc · 2020Pooled it
- Motivational power of future time perspective: Meta-analyses in education, work, and health.PloS one · 2018Pooled it
- Facing the Emotional Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening. The Roles of Reappraisal and Situation Selection.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2025Trial
- Do older veterans experience change in posttraumatic cognitions following treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder?Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy · 2022Trial
- Ecological Predictors of Older Adults' Participation and Retention in a Physical Activity Intervention.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Effect of a Positive Photo Appreciation Program on Depressive Mood in Older Adults: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Trial
- A web-based examination of experiences with intrusive thoughts across the adult lifespan.Aging & mental health · 2014Trial
- Aging ebbs the flow of thought: adult age differences in mind wandering, executive control, and self-evaluation.Acta psychologica · 2013Trial
- Evaluation of a Gamification-Based Intervention to Enhance Intergenerational Communication: Pre-Post Mixed Methods Evaluation.JMIR aging · 2026Article
- The dynamic association between loneliness and social participation among Chinese middle-aged and older adults.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Temporal Changes in Continuous Glucose Monitoring Profiles in Health Care Workers Participating in a Digitally Delivered Metabolic Wellness Program.Journal of diabetes science and technology · 2026Article
- Age differences in proactive and reactive control: valence asymmetries in the processing of complex emotional scenes.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Social interactions and loneliness in daily life: A study of younger adults and cognitively diverse older adults.Developmental psychology · 2026Article
- Perception of facial trustworthiness in mild cognitive impairment.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Article
- Social Well-Being and Quality of Life Among Older Adults in Latvia-A Country with the Lowest Healthy Life Years in the EU.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
177 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The tremendous heterogeneity in functional and demographic characteristics of the over-65 age group presents challenges to effective marketing and public health communications. Messages grounded on tacit assumptions that older people are frail, incompetent, and needy risk being overlooked by most of the older population; on the other hand, ignoring age-associated vulnerabilities is problematic. We argue that while traditional approaches to market segmentation based on chronological age often fail, reliable age differences in motivation can inform the types of information that older people typically prefer, attend to, and remember. Socioemotional selectivity theory maintains that as future time horizons grow limited - as they typically do with age - emotional goals are prioritized over goals that focus on exploration. As time left becomes more limited, positive messages are remembered better than negative, and products that help people savor the moment are preferred over those that benefit the long-term future. Relatedly, acknowledging individual strengths and personal resilience are likely to be especially appealing to older people.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.