Savouring Moderates Affect Reactivity to Daily Events in Old Age

This study investigated savouring as a moderator of affect reactivity to daily events among older adults.

A sample of 108 individuals aged 65-92 years (M = 73.11, SD = 5.92; 58% women) completed daily diary questionnaires over 14 days, reporting on daily stressors, positive events, savouring, and positive and negative affect.

Multilevel models showed that on days when a stressor was experienced, negative affect was higher when daily savouring (within-person) was low, but this association was not observed when daily savouring was high. Additionally, on days with positive events, negative affect was lower when trait savouring (between-person) was high, but this effect was not found when trait savouring was low.

The findings highlight the importance of savouring as a key factor in managing emotional responses to daily experiences among older adults. Specifically, deliberately engaging with positive experiences might buffer daily negative emotional responses.