News
March 2012
Chicago Tribune
How to Live Alone Without Being Lonely
Single-person households are the nation's fastest growing living units. There continue to be adverse health consequences for those living alone, but these are quickly diminishing. In her book Long Bright Future Laura Carstensen argues that it is essential to build a plan that anticipates the needs of older age, such as finding younger friends and new social activities. This is especially important for older singles.
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The Spokesman-Review
The seven choices that lead to longevity
Laura Carstensen was a featured speak at the Age Boom Academy at Columbia University. While there she discussed the seven choices most associated with longevity, they include maintaining one's wait, and not smoking.
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The Daily Breeze
Commentary: Putting in a good word for what to call older adults
Scientists do not believe that old age begins until 85, and yet those 65 and over are routinely referred to as elderly. Dr. Laura Carstensen suggests referring to those between 60 and 80 as in Act IV of five part lives.
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The Town Talk
Commentary: A Challenge for Our (Old) Age
Lifespan has increased to the point where in certain areas of the United States it is routine to live past eighty. With this in mind Dr. Laura Carstensen of Stanford University has proposed that we need to rethink family structure to foster more cooperation across generations.
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The Blog
It's Enough To Make A Unicorn Blush
Sex is a taboo subject in our society and this taboo strengthens with regards to sex in old age. Dr. Laura Carstensen offers some honest commentary about sexuality among the aged. She suggests that people might actually grow more satisfied with their sex lives as they age because they learn to expect less and appreciate more.
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Huffington Post
Why Good Friends Make You Happy
Professor Laura Carstensen advises considering the number and diversity of our friendships as we age. This can alleviate some of the issues associated with the shrinking social networks that come with age.
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Huffington Post
Aging Myths: 5 Big Misconceptions About Growing Older
We are in the midst of a longevity revolution and it is up to us to determine how best to make use of our added years. Dr. Laura Carstensen is among the great minds currently working to rethink our society. This article summarizes the five biggest aging myths which Dr. Carstensen debunks in Long Bright Future.
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iVillage
Is It Normal to Lose Friends as You Get Older
According to Dr. Carstensen's socioemotional selectivity theory it is natural to lose friends as we grow older because we begin to see the future as limited. This causes a shift in focus from gathering many friends to enjoying close relationships.
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Palo Alto Online News
Cover story: a breach of trust
Dr. Laura Carstensen has found that a people age it takes them longer to trust people. Despite this reality, however, family members or those posing as family members are often able to take advantage of the elderly.
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Hispanic Business
Many Seniors are Grinning Through the Golden Years
Socioemotional selectivity theory, formulated by Dr. Laura Carstensen, suggests that as people age they tend to seek out more emotionally meaningful experiences. This means that despite age-related difficulties people tend to grow happier as they age.
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PR Web
The Perscription for a Longer, Happier Life: Facebook for Grandma
Dr. Laura Carstensen's research on aging has suggested that connection to close friends and family becomes increasingly important as people grow older. Facebook is suggested as a method for improving social connectedness in the elderly.
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February 2012
Stanford News Service
Look for new roles for older citizens in an aging America, says Stanford's Laura Carstensen
According to Dr. Laura Carstensen an aging population is not a problem at all, but a source of opportunities to revise social norms, and make tangible improvements to our society.
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PR Web
Panel Discussion on Living Longer
Dr. Laura Carstensen discusses the Stanford Longevity Center's mission to "redesign long life", not only for those approaching old age, but throughout the lifespan.
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IOL Lifestyle
It's Fabulous to be 50!
Dr. Laura Carstensen describes improvements in emotional regulation associated with aging. Other health benefits of growing older are highlighted as well.
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Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
KU Leuven awards honorary doctorates to five researchers for outstanding research on ageing
Dr. Laura Carstensen receives an honorary degree from KU Leuven for her research on the positive social and emotional effects on aging.
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January 2012
New York Times
It's Not Me, It's You
Dr. Laura Carstensen's research shows that when time horizons are long, as in youth, people are concerned with the novel experience of collecting friends. As we age or our life situations diminish our time horizons we become more preoccupied with close relationships and so it is important to know how to trim our social networks.
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Entrepreneur
The Power of Prise in Business and How to do it Right
Dr. Carstensen argues that praise in business is a low effort, high reward method of increasing productivity. Other sources agress that, provided it is administered correctly, praise can boost employee involvement.
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December 2011
US News
Take a Career Assessment Test
Dr. Carstensen suggests taking a career assessment test as you approach the traditional time for retirement. It is essential that people continue to work later into life, and a career assessment can be a useful tool for discovering a new passion.
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Smart Money
Couples Retirement Counseling
According to Dr. Laura Carstensen since women tend to live longer and reach their career peaks later than men they often want to wait to retire. This means discussion between partners is essential as retirement draws near.
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On Wall Street
Five Questions with Dr. Laura Carstensen
Dr. Carstensen discusses the nature of financial scamming and what advisors can do to protect their clients, particularly those who are cognitively disabled.
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PR Newswire
TEDxWomen Conference
Speaking about her research on aging and the positivity effect, Dr. Laura Carstensen was one of several experts asked to speak at the national TEDxWomen Conference, where she spoke alongside Barbara Walters, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and others. Her speech and presentations are now online for global viewing.
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November 2011
U.S. News
Working Into Your 70s: A Smart Retirement Move
Dr. Carstensen suggests that individuals who are in the process of planning their careers should consider jobs they will still find fulfilling in their 60s and 70s.
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Maclean's Newswire
What It's Really Like to Grow Old
Commenting on the aging of the "baby boomer" generation, Dr. Carstensen notes that there is an inherent paradox in the phenomenon; although aging brings forth serious physical and cognitive deterioration, older adults actually tend to be happier and lead more fulfilling lives that younger adults.
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PR Newswire
Picture This: Consumers Save More for Retirement When Faced With an Image of What They'll Look Like At Age 65
Research conducted by Dr. Carstensen and other prominent psychology and health science researchers indicates that individuals will save approximately 33% more of their income for retirement when presented with an age-progressed image of themselves.
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October 2011
Science Magazine
Happiness Associated With Longer Life
New research regarding life-expectancy and emotion is received positively by Dr. Carstensen, whose own research corroborates the University College London's findings.
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The University of Texas at Dallas News
Dr. Laura Carstensen, "A Long, Bright Future"
Speaking on her research and work with the Stanford Center on Longevity, Dr. Carstensen is welcomed to the Center for Vital Longevity for an hour-long discussion at The University of Texas at Dallas.
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Stanford School of Medicine
Time marches on wearing biomechanical shoes
At the urging of Dr. Carstensen, Tom Andriacchi, PhD, of Stanford's BioMotion Lab, has created new biomechanically-engineered shoes to wide acclaim by medical experts and consumers alike.
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Wall Street Journal
Older but Wiser: Middle Age is a Prime Time for Finance
Dr. Carstensen notes the importance of an experienced financial advisor as a means to protect oneself from financial fraud.
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September 2011
Stanford Report
Stanford launches new center to study fraud against the elderly
Dr. Laura Carstensen comments on the emerging partnership between Stanford University's Center for Longevity and the recently-opened, interdisciplinary Research Center on the Prevention of Financial Fraud, which will be a resource for law enforcement to better understand how and why citizens become targets of financial fraud.
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August 2011
Financial Advisor
Stanford, FINRA Foundation Launch Fraud Prevention Center
The FINRA Foundation and Stanford University's Center on Longevity team up to launch the Research Center on the Prevention of Financial Fraud. Dr. Carstensen, the founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, comments on the serious economic problem that fraud poses for people of all ages.
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CNN Money
Protecting your parents: Keep the sharks at bay
Complaints about financial exploitation of the elderly are increasing. Money Magazine continues its series on protecting your aging parents by reviewing five common sales tactics, and Dr. Carstensen helps explain why such tactics are often effective.
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Futures
New financial fraud center opens doors
Stanford University launches the Research Center on the Prevention of Financial Fraud, an interdisciplinary resource for law
enforcement, government and research groups studying financial fraud. Dr. Carstensen's speaks on how the new center seeks to enhance the financial security of Americans.
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Irish Times
The ageing brain doesn't need to wane
Many people believe that our mental faculties decline with age, but a new book reviews the research that suggests this is not the case.
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Newsweek
Life gets better at 50
Dr. Carstensen explains socioemotional selectivity theory and how our perspective on time influences goals that guide behavior.
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Slate
Obama at 50: Older, Wiser...Happier?
Research on happiness shows that our sense of well-being improves as we pass middle age. Dr. Carstensen discusses why such age-related shifts in happiness occur.
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July 2011
USA Today
Among Generation X women, age 40 is party time
Dr. Carstensen comments on women's new perspectives on turning 40, and its relationship with societal norms.
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Chicago Tribune
Positive thinking makes for happy old people
A new MRI study shines light on the mechanisms behind Socioemotional Selectivity Theory.
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June 2011
New York Times
Fears, and Opportunities, on the Road to Retirement
Some are exhilarated with the options retirement offers, while others are worried about the cost and future of Medicare and Social Security.
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May 2011
Gulf News
Smile, you're getting older
Dr. Carstensen explains the 'paradox of aging' through Socioemotional Selectivity Theory.
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April 2011
PsychCentral Blog
Unfriending in the Real World
A reflection on Socioemotional Selectivity Theory and how social networks are consolidated and limited to the most emotionally meaningful relationships as people age.
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Buffallo News
Education, wealth strong predictors of a long life
Dr. Carstensen briefly discusses factors that help produce high-functioning older adults.
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March 2011
Los Altos Town Crier
The Road to Longevity
An overview of longevity and the research of Stanford Center on Longevity
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PR Newswire
Fidelity Investments Takes Retirement Income Planning to a New Level on Behalf of Baby Boomers
Laura Carstensen shares insight into emotional and behavioral responses to financial planning to help people better plan for retirement.
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Five Retirement Mistakes to Avoid
Dr. Carstensen discusses psychological barriers to saving and planning appropriately for retirement.
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U.S. News and World Report
9 Secrets of Retirement Happiness
What else is important for well-being after retirement
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January 2011
USA Today
Some Boomers 'retire' to jobs that allow them to help others
Why older workers are making career shifts towards jobs that benefit society
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December 2010
The Economist
The U-Bend of life: Why, beyond middle-age, people get happier as they get older
It is more than just money that predicts our well-being as we age
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It's not too late for Baby Boomers to get in shape
Baby Boomers try pilates and Zumba to help stay active and fight age-related health problems
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Los Altos Patch
Get old, Get Happy
Results from Stanford study show that happiness and well-being improves with age
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November 2010
USA Today
Experts on aging: Stay fit after 65 to live longer, better
Studies show that exercise helps maintain cognitive and physical strength while aging
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Stanford Report
Stanford study shows getting older leads to emotional stability, happiness.
A longitudinal experience sampling study from the lab shows as people, of any generation, age they become more emotionally stable and more positive.
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United Press International
Getting older = more happiness.
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Stanford Daily
Happiness increases with age, study says
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October 2010
Stanford Report
The issues are real, and the numbers don't add up: Stanford 2010 Roundtable looks at longevity and the boomers.
As part of an impressive panel, Dr. Carstensen discussed concerns and hopes for an aging generation.
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Palo Alto Patch
65 is the new 55: Prominent Baby Boomers at Stanford Alumni Weekend discuss impacts on society of aging and longevity.
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Stanford Daily
Aging boomer population brings new issues, roundtable says.
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The financial time bomb of longer lives.
Dr. Carstensen gives her two cents on how culture and policy can address the demographic shift.
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Taking early retirement may retire memory, too.
A new economic paper suggests that work may be an important part of what helps keep people functioning at their best.
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September 2010
Chicago Tribune
Turning 40...is this the decade of wisdom?
Wisdom may relate to emotion and regulation.
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August 2010
Chicago Tribune
Accentuating the positive: As we grow older, changing priorities can have a surprising effect on emotional health.
Life-span Development Laboratory research indicates that people become more positive as they age, increasingly focusing on meaningful experiences.
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Researchers find that wisdom and happiness increase as people grow older
Dr. Carstensen helps explain the "well-being paradox" through socioemotional selectivity theory.
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July 2010
Science News
Sadness response strengthens with age
A new study at UC Berkeley adds to the growing body of literature showing the emotion system does not deteriorate as people age.
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June 2010
San Francisco Chronicle
Book finds some good news about aging brain
Barbara Strauch's new book on the middle aged brain cites and expands on the fact that the brain is still doing well in middle age, for example regulating emotions and increasing focus on positive memories.
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May 2010
USA Today
Daily Stress and Worry Plummet After Age 50
A new large scale study parallels Laura Carstensen's findings that negative emotions decline with age.
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Science Now
Golden Years Truly Are Golden
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NPR
Charting Happiness: Study Finds It Comes With Age
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AARP Bulletin Today
Spend Less, Save More: How Marketers Persuade You to Part with Your Hard-Earned Money
Laura Carstensen has found that people focus more on positive than negative information as they age; aging consumers should be aware of this effect and its marketing implications.
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March 2010
The New York Times
Ready for Life's Encore Performances
Encore Fellowships are starting a movement to support the emerging developmental stage of life from 55 to 75 by helping people find new, fulfulling work after the traditional retirement age.
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December 2009
US News and World Report
Loneliness Is Contagious: 4 Ways to Stay Connected as You Age
Dr. Carstensen explains aging does not equate to loneliness. Older adults experience fewer negative emotions on a daily basis and focus on deeper connections to smaller networks.
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November 2009
The Montreal Gazette
Misery loves puberty: Teens embrace feelings of anger, depression
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute cite Carstensen's Socioemotional Selectivity Theory to explain why older adults seek positive emotions while teens maintain negative moods.
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September 2009
The Washington Times
Finding purpose in life: Meaning, longevity connect
Persistent stress, including social distress, and the inability to manage it adversely affects health.
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August 2009
BBC News
People 'get happier as they age'
Laura Carstensen's research shows that later life can be an enormously positive experience.
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USA Today
Mental health, happiness improve with age, studies say
Social relationships are an important part of healthy aging.
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Business Week
Good News for Elderly: Happiness Keeps Growing: Older adults learn to limit negative influences, studies show
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January 2009
The Boston Globe
Aging has its benefits: As we grow older, our brains retain the good memories and dismiss the bad
The positivity effect continues to be supported by a growing body of research.
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December 2008
Duke Medicine News
Old and Young Brains Rely on Different Systems to Remember Emotional Content
Duke neuroscientists find results consistent with Dr. Laura Carstensen's theory of emotional processes in older adults.
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September 2008
Woman's Day
The Happiness Equation
People expect to become less happy as they grow older, yet our studies show that the frequency that one feels sad or angry declines, and when negative emotions do occur, they don't last as long.
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March 2008
The Boston Globe
McCain's Senior Moment
Laura Carstensen, head of Stanford's Center on Longevity, offers the good news that as people age, their knowledge generally increases as does their ability to regulate emotions.
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November 2007
Forbes Magazine
Rethinking Old Age
Laura Carstensen says we are unprepared for the aging boom. She's hoping to change that.
Click here to view a PDF May 2007
New York Times Magazine
The Older-and-Wiser Hypothesis
Laura Carstensen of Stanford University has produced a substantial body of research over the past two decades showing that the ability to focus on emotional control is tightly linked to a person’s sense of time and that older people in general seem to have a better feel for keeping their emotions in balance.
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April 2007
Science Daily
Decision Making By The Growing Elderly Population Is Uncharted Territory
She noted a just-published study in the journal Psychology and Aging by Corinna E. Löckenhoff and Laura L. Carstensen of Stanford University that found that older people focus more on positive benefits than on negative risks in making health choices.
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February 2007
Monitor on Psychology
Accentuating the positive
- why older people are happier
Information processing functioning steadily declines starting when people reach their 20s. But as people get older, they get better at regulating their emotional health, according to psychology professor Laura Carstensen, PhD, founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity at Stanford University.
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January 2007
Issues in Science and Technology (National Academy of Sciences)
Growing Old or Living Long: Take Your Pick
Research to understand the psychological and emotional processes of aging is essential to creating a society in which the elderly can thrive.
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October 2006
Washington Post
Backpedaling on the Life Cycle
What if we turned the life cycle upside down? I am sitting in the office of Laura L. Carstensen, director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, and we're exploring ideas for a new chronological agenda that would be more appropriate for a life span of 80 years or more. What if . . .
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August 2006
Wissenschaft & Debatte
Das vorausschauende Alter (The Anticipated Old Age)
Der Sinn für die verbleibende Zeit bis zum Tod prägt die Psyche – und verändert die Sicht auf moderne Gesellschaften
(The sense of remaining time until death shapes the psyche—and changes the view on modern societies)
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Click here for the English translation by Marianne Rocca
April 2006
Science & Spirit
Set Point Match
Studies of identical twins suggest the blueprint for joy is in our genes. Yet brain images show our happiness levels can change according to circumstance, activities, and patterns of thought. Is the pursuit of positive emotions a mixed-up game of nature and nurture?
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March 2006
Washington Post
Taking a Fresh Look at Aging
What is the real image of aging? That was the question for the more than 3,000 attendees of the annual conference here of the National Council on the Aging and the American Society on Aging. Is aging a dark period of decline and ridicule? Is it uncharted territory of growth and opportunity?
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January 2006
St. Petersburg Times
The Aging Brain Puts Accent on the Positive
Mention the aging brain and most people think of decline. Processing speed slows, short-term memory weakens, and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease and other brain problems climbs rapidly after 60. But in one way, the aging brain actually improves. Laura Carstensen, a psychologist at Stanford University in California, has detected what she calls a "positivity bias" among older people.
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November 2005
New York Times
Wizened, Yes, but Not Always Wiser
Psychologists have found that people tend to think less clearly when feeling down or depressed. Here, too, age appears to offer some compensations. Dr. Laura Carstensen, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, has followed a group of almost 200 people of all ages for 10 years. They have aperiodically carried beepers for a week at a time, recording their emotions five times a day, each time the beeper goes off.
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June 2005
Business Week
Live Long and Prosper. Seriously.
Ahhhh, retirement. It sounds enticing with its promise of freedom from the daily grind. But think carefully before trading employment for a poolside retreat.
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February 2005
Psychology Today
True Happiness
We search for happiness in eager anticipation and joyful memories, but we're better off paying attention to each moment as it passes.
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January 2005
APS Observer
NIA Establishes Six New Roybal Centers
The National Institute on Aging, or NIA, part of the National Institutes of Health, recently announced the establishment of six new Edward R. Roybal Centers for Research on Applied Gerontology. The centers - at the University of Indiana, Princeton University, Stanford University, the RAND corporation, and the Oregon Health and Sciences University - will join the four existing Roybal Centers to conduct research on patient management.
PDF
July/August 2004
Stanford Magazine
New Age Thinking
We're living longer than ever, and the population of elderly is about to double. But Stanford researchers say our approach to aging is stuck in a time warp.
Hi-quality PDF (11.4 MB)
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March 2004
Reader's Digest
10 Keys to True Happiness
Old age may not be so bad. In one study Carstensen gave pagers to 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and paged them five times a day for a week asking them to fill out an emotions questionairre each time. Old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, but they reported negative emotions much less frequently.
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December 22, 2003
The Boston Globe
New Research Affirms Seniors' Mental Abilities
It is one of the greatest fears of aging: losing the ability to think quickly, remember accurately, and reason clearly. Years of laboratory testing indicate that these skills decline beginning in young adulthood. But a growing body of research is challenging the depth of this deterioration and its impact, suggesting that most healthy seniors can work, drive, and live independently well into their golden years.
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August 27, 2003
Psychological Science on the web
Attentional Focus Becomes More Positive With Age
Growing old gracefully may very well be a fact of life. Research into developmental changes in attention and memory support a correlation between increasing age and better emotional well-being.
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July 2003
APA Monitor on Psychology, Science Watch
Older and untroubled
New research suggests that older people have fewer negative memories than younger people do.
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July 4, 2003
La Tercera (Santiago, Chile)
Ancianos recuerdan más las experiencias positivas y los jóvenes las negativas
Expertos señalan que esto puede deberse a que las opciones y valores de las personas se definen en gran medida reconociendo las cosas negativas de la vida. Los jóvenes se encuentran viviendo este proceso, mientras que los mayores ya lo superaron y enfocan su atención en lo positivo.
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July 3, 2003
The New York Times, Health and Fitness
Brighter Side Emerges With Age
Older people forget unpleasant images more quickly than positive ones, according to a study published yesterday.
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July 2, 2003
USA Today, Life section
The young are most often the grumpy ones, studies suggest
Elderly retain more pleasant memories.
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April 30, 2003
Stanford Report
Laura Carstensen named 2003 Guggenheim fellow
Laura L. Carstensen, professor of psychology, has been named a recipient of the 2003 Guggenheim Fellowship, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation announced recently.
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February 28, 2003
Science, News Focus
The Wisdom of the Wizened
New data indicate that some of the mental declines that accompany aging aren't as bad as researchers once thought. And in many cognitive domains, the old have a lot to teach the young.
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