The Constructionist Approach to Emotional Aging: Theoretical Insights and Predictions

In this article, we introduce a constructionist approach to understanding emotional aging in adulthood. The purpose of the paper is to show how constructionism offers a promising avenue for gaining new insights into age-related changes in emotional experiences. We begin by introducing the constructionist theoretical framework and illustrating how constructionism may shape conceptualizations of emotional aging in adulthood. We compare the constructionist conceptualization of emotional aging with existing conceptualizations of emotional aging derived from prominent theories of emotional aging, focusing on how such conceptualizations highlight different aspects of emotional aging (e.g., different mechanisms) and overlook or downplay other aspects. We conclude by explicating what constructionism may offer research on emotional aging, including considerations of research agendas, study designs, and method of measurement.