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Emotional Development in Midlife and Older Age: Are We Happier with Age?

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Fostering Development in Midlife and Older Age

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Abstract

Emotions play an important role in our daily lives, helping us communicate with others and increase our self-knowledge. Older age is often associated with negative feelings (e.g. sadness, regret, anxiety, etc.). However, research points out that older people can experience increased positive emotions compared to young individuals. The present chapter aims to provide some answers regarding whether people become happier as they grow older, by examining the meanings and characteristics of emotional ageing and emotional development in midlife and older age. The chapter also explores how emotional development is linked to other developmental areas (i.e. social, cognitive, physical, and personality). Finally, the chapter applies a positive psychology perspective to illustrate some general principles concerning how to foster emotional growth in midlife and older age. Other chapters in the present book examine in more detail how to promote happiness in older age (Chap. 13), how to foster love in midlife and older age (Chap. 11), and how to intervene to prevent or reduce loneliness (Chap. 14) and prevent anxiety (Chap. 17) and depression (Chap. 18) among older individuals.

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  1. Department of Qualitative Social and Educational Research, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Irina Catrinel Crăciun

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Crăciun, I.C. (2023). Emotional Development in Midlife and Older Age: Are We Happier with Age?. In: Fostering Development in Midlife and Older Age. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24449-0_8

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