Although cognitive and neuropsychological approaches emphasize the losses with age that might impair social perception, motivational theories indicate that there may be some gains or qualitative changes. Charles and Carstensen review a considerable body of evidence indicating that, as people get older, they tend to prioritize close social relationships, focus more on achieving emotional well-being, and attend more to positive emotional information while ignoring negative information. These changing motivational goals in old age have implications for attention to and processing of social cues from the environment. Of particular importance in considering emotional changes in old age is the presence of a positivity bias: that is, a tendency to notice, attend to, and remember more positive compared to negative information. The role of life experience in social skills also indicates that older adults might show gains in some aspects of social perception.
* cognitive: 인식의 ** impair: 해치다