TitlePerceived Benefits and Costs Contribute to Young and Older Adults' Selectivity in Social Relationships.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsO'Brien, EL, Hess, TM
JournalGeroPsych (Bern)
Volume33
Issue1
Pagination42-51
Date Published2020 Mar
ISSN1662-9647
Abstract

<p>This article explores the influence of perceived benefits and costs on willingness to engage in social interactions in 32 young adults aged 20 to 40 years and 38 older adults aged 65 to 85 years. Results showed (1) increases in perceived benefits and importance of each relationship but decreases in perceived costs associated with increases in network centrality, (2) reduced willingness in older adults to engage with social partners for whom perceived costs outweighed benefits, and (3) perceived costs and benefits subsumed the effects of the affective qualities of social interactions. Findings support an analysis of social behavior based on the selective engagement theory (Hess, 2014), with selection effects in willingness to engage in social interactions related to perceived benefits and costs.</p>

DOI10.1024/1662-9647/a000218
Alternate JournalGeroPsych (Bern)
PubMed ID33536892
PubMed Central IDPMC7853691
Grant ListR01 AG005552 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
T32 AG049676 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States