Which term describes a bias toward remembering positive events over negative events in old age?

Which term describes a bias toward remembering positive events over negative events in old age?

• A. Disengagement theory
• B. Final responsibility theory
• C. NORC
• D. Positivity effects

Answer: (D)

Positivity effect describes the tendency for older adults to remember positive events more than negative ones. As people age, many focus on maintaining emotional well-being, which shows up as a bias in memory and attention toward positive information. This aligns with the idea that when time horizons feel shorter, emotional goals become more important, shaping what we attend to and recall. In practice, older adults often recall more pleasant details and fewer negative ones compared with younger adults, illustrating this positivity bias. Other terms touch on different aging ideas—disengagement theory describes withdrawing from social roles, NORC is just a research organization acronym—so they don’t capture this specific memory bias.

Positivity effect describes the tendency for older adults to remember positive events more than negative ones. As people age, many focus on maintaining emotional well-being, which shows up as a bias in memory and attention toward positive information. This aligns with the idea that when time horizons feel shorter, emotional goals become more important, shaping what we attend to and recall. In practice, older adults often recall more pleasant details and fewer negative ones compared with younger adults, illustrating this positivity bias. Other terms touch on different aging ideas—disengagement theory describes withdrawing from social roles, NORC is just a research organization acronym—so they don’t capture this specific memory bias.