A Tale of Two Emotions: The Diverging Salience and Health Consequences of Calmness and Excitement in Old Age

Abstract

Although the benefits of positive affect in old age have been well established, little is known about the late life salience or adaptive value of discrete positive emotions that have contrasting motivational functions. In two studies, we examined the prevalence and health consequences of individual differences in positive emotions posited to motivate a present-focused mindset that fosters rest and recovery (calmness) or a future-focused mindset that motivates pursuit of novelty and stimulation (excitement). Study 1 was based on a one-week daily diary study (n = 146) that assessed the salience of these discrete emotions in older adults (Mage = 75, SD = 6.82) relative to younger adults (Mage = 23, SD = 3.91). Results from multilevel models showed that older adults experienced higher average levels of calmness and lower levels of excitement in comparison to younger adults. Study 2 was based on a 10-year study (n = 336, Mage = 75, SD = 6.64) and examined the longitudinal health consequences of individual differences in calmness and excitement for older adults who perceived varying levels of control over their life circumstances. Results from multilevel growth models showed that calmness, but not excitement, buffered against longitudinal declines in psychological well-being (perceived stress, depressive symptoms) and physical health (physical symptoms, chronic conditions) for older adults experiencing low control circumstances. Findings inform theories of emotional aging in showing that positive emotions with disparate motivational functions become more or less salient with age and have diverging consequences for health in late life.

Full text

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
1
A Tale of Two Emotions: The Diverging Salience and Health Consequences of
Calmness and Excitement in Old Age
Jeremy M. Hamm,1 Carsten Wrosch,2 Meaghan A. Barlow,3 and Ute Kunzmann4
1North Dakota State University
2Concordia University
3University of California, Berkeley
4University of Leipzig
Abstract:
Although the benefits of positive affect in old age have been well established, little is known about the late life salience or
adaptive value of discrete positive emotions that have contrasting motivational functions. In two studies, we examined the
prevalence and health consequences of individual differences in positive emotions posited to motivate a present-focused
mindset that fosters rest and recovery (calmness) or a future-focused mindset that motivates pursuit of novelty and stimulation
(excitement). Study 1 was based on a one-week daily diary study (n = 146) that assessed the salience of these discrete emotions
in older adults (Mage = 75, SD = 6.82) relative to younger adults (Mage = 23, SD = 3.91). Results from multilevel models showed
that older adults experienced higher average levels of calmness and lower levels of excitement in comparison to younger adults.
Study 2 was based on a 10-year study (n = 336, Mage = 75, SD = 6.64) and examined the longitudinal health consequences of
individual differences in calmness and excitement for older adults who perceived varying levels of control over their life
circumstances. Results from multilevel growth models showed that calmness, but not excitement, buffered against longitudinal
declines in psychological well-being (perceived stress, depressive symptoms) and physical health (physical symptoms, chronic
conditions) for older adults experiencing low control circumstances. Findings inform theories of emotional aging in showing
that positive emotions with disparate motivational functions become more or less salient with age and have diverging
consequences for health in late life.
Keywords: discrete positive emotions; calmness; excitement; perceived control; health and aging
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Psychology and Aging following
peer review.
© 2021, American Psychological Association. The official citation for this manuscript is: Hamm, J. M., Wrosch, C., Barlow,
M. A., & Kunzmann, U. (in press). A Tale of Two Emotions: The Diverging Salience and Health Consequences of
Calmness and Excitement in Old Age, Psychology and Aging. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly
replicate the final, authoritative version of the article. The final article will be available, upon publication, via its DOI.
Functional theories of emotion propose that discrete
emotions have evolved to support adaptive behavior in
response to different situational demands (Ekman, 1999;
Keltner & Gross, 1999; Lazarus, 1991). The discrete emotion
theory of affective aging (DEA) builds on this approach by
incorporating a lifespan developmental perspective that
addresses the changing salience and adaptive value of
different emotions as people age (Kunzmann, Kappes, &
Wrosch, 2014; Kunzmann & Wrosch, 2018). Past DEA
theory and research has focused on discrete negative
emotions with contrasting motivational functions (anger and
sadness; e.g., Kunzman et al., 2017; Wrosch et al., 2018).
Although central to adult development and aging
(Carstensen, 2006; Fredrickson, 2003), the DEA has yet to
consider discrete positive emotions such as calmness and
excitement. These emotions have distinct physiological
profiles and motivational functions which support either rest
and recovery in the present (calmness) or the pursuit of
novelty and stimulation in the future (excitement; Gilbert,
2014; Harmon-Jones, Gable, & Price, 2013; Izard, 1977).
Calmness and excitement may differ in their lifespan
salience and adaptive health value. Such differences may
occur because the disparate functions of these emotions
should become more or less beneficial as individuals age and
encounter uncontrollable developmental losses (Smith &
Baltes, 1997). Such uncontrollable losses can be reflected in

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
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low levels of perceived control (Drewelies et al., 2017, 2018;
Gerstorf et al., 2011; Infurna & Okun, 2015), which may
imply the adaptive versus maladaptive consequences of these
emotions can become pivotal for affecting late life health
among older adults with low perceptions of control.
The present research sought to extend DEA theory to
two understudied positive emotions in documenting the age-
related salience (Study 1) and health implications (Study 2)
of calmness and excitement. Study 1 examined whether
calmness may be more salient and excitement less salient in
older (vs. younger) adults based on the correspondence of
their respective motivational functions to age-specific
opportunities and constraints (Baltes & Baltes, 1990;
Heckhausen, Wrosch, & Schulz, 2010, 2019; Kunzmann &
Wrosch, 2018). Study 2 examined whether individual
differences in the propensity to experience calmness and
excitement can have distinct consequences for 10-year
changes in central measures of late life psychological well-
being and physical health (perceived stress, depressive
symptoms; physical symptoms, chronic conditions). Based
on theories of lifespan development, we reasoned that the
positive consequences of calmness, but not excitement, may
be strongest among older adults with low perceived control
(Baltes & Baltes, 1990; Heckhausen et al., 2019; Kunzmann
et al., 2014; Lachman, 2006). These theories posit that (low)
perceived and actual control potential are intricately linked
to the experience of age-related losses and constraints. The
motivational functions of calmness, which support present-
focused rest and recovery behaviors, may thus buffer against
steep declines in well-being and health for low control
individuals who commonly encounter increasing
developmental constraints and uncontrollable life
circumstances (Drewelies et al., 2017; Heckhausen et al.,
2019; Wrosch & Scheier, 2020).
Discrete Emotion Theory of Affective Aging (DEA)
Functional theories of emotion posit that discrete
emotions evolved to support the management of central life
tasks (Ekman, 1999). Emotions differ in patterns of
physiological activity, cognitive appraisals, and motivational
functions that facilitate adaptive behavioral responses to
environmental demands (Ekman & Davidson, 1994; Frijda,
1986; Lazarus, 1991). The DEA integrates functional
approaches to emotions with lifespan developmental theory,
with an emphasis on the changing salience and adaptive
value of different emotions throughout the life course. DEA
proposes that emotions should become salient during life
periods when they contribute to positive developmental
outcomes. The adaptive value of different emotions is
theorized to depend on the fit of their motivational functions
with age-related changes in developmental context
(Kunzmann et al., 2014; Kunzmann & Wrosch, 2018).
Lifespan theory and research has documented how
developmental opportunities and constraints exhibit
normative shifts across the adult lifespan (Baltes & Baltes,
1990; Heckhausen et al., 2019). These shifting opportunities
and constraints provide a developmental context that can be
captured in part by differences in chronological age. For
example, young adulthood has been characterized as a period
of growth that involves increasing opportunities to pursue
and achieve developmental goals (Baltes & Baltes, 1990;
Heckhausen et al., 2010, 2019). In contrast, old age has been
described as a period characterized by increasing
developmental constraints and uncontrollable losses that can
undermine personal capacity to attain valued goals
(Heckhausen et al., 2010; Wrosch & Scheier, 2020).
An important corollary, however, is that lifespan theory
considers chronological age as a proxy variable that reflects
developmental context only in part (Baltes & Baltes, 1990;
Carstensen, 2006; Heckhausen et al., 2019). In other words,
although research shows developmental losses become
increasingly prevalent in old age, there remains
heterogeneity in the extent and timing of these age-related
losses (Baltes, 1987; Baltes & Smith, 2003; Gerstorf et al.,
2010; Heckhausen et al., 2010, 2019; Rowe & Kahn, 1997;
Smith & Baltes, 1997). Research seeking to account for
heterogeneity that remains in later life points to the
importance of proxies beyond age. These proxies may
further capture developmental context, such as individual
differences in people’s perceptions of control over their life
circumstances, which is intricately (and reciprocally) linked
to the experience of developmental constraints. Specifically,
older adults with low control perceptions commonly face
more constraints and losses than their counterparts with high
control (Drewelies et al., 2017, 2018; Gerstorf et al., 2011;
Infurna & Okun, 2015; Wrosch et al., 2018). This suggests
that age-related changes posited by DEA theory in the
salience and adaptivity of discrete emotions may be
particularly evident if one considers not only people’s
chronological age, but also their perceived or actual control
potential.
DEA theory has thus far focused on the salience and
adaptive value of two negative emotions (anger, sadness) as
individuals age and gradually encounter uncontrollable
losses in their lives. These emotions motivate overcoming
goal-related obstacles (anger) or facilitate adjustment to
irreversible losses (sadness; Lazarus, 1991; Kunzmann,
Rohr, Wieck, Kappes, & Wrosch, 2017; Wrosch & Miller,

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
3
2009). Increasing evidence supports DEA propositions and
shows that sadness, but not anger, becomes more salient and
promotes disengagement from unattainable goals in old age
(Kunzmann et al., 2013; Wrosch et al., 2018). Further, anger,
but not sadness, may erode late life well-being and health
(e.g., Barlow, Wrosch, Kunzmann, & Gouin, 2019).
However, the DEA has yet to consider discrete positive
emotions, which are central to successful aging (Carstensen,
2006; Fredrickson, 2003). The present research thus sought
to extend DEA theory to two understudied positive emotions:
calmness and excitement. These emotions exhibit important
differences in their physiological profiles and motivational
functions that are relevant for adaptive development and
healthy aging.
Theories of emotion, motivation, and lifespan development
offer converging perspectives on the functions of these
emotions. Calmness is posited to motivate rest and recovery
in the absence of active goal pursuit (Gilbert, 2014; Harmon-
Jones, Bastian, & Harmon-Jones, 2016). Calmness is
present-focused; facilitates a broad and deliberative mindset
and being in the moment (Carver, 2003; Gilbert, 2014;
Harmon-Jones et al., 2013; Jiang, Fung, Sims, Tsai, &
Zhang, 2016); and is linked to motivational processes
involving conservation of resources and goal adjustment and
disengagement (Tamir et al., 2016; Tsai, Miao, Seppala,
Fung, & Yeung, 2007). In contrast, excitement is posited to
mobilize energy for novel and stimulating goal pursuits
(Izard, 1977; Harmon-Jones et al., 2016). Excitement is
future-focused (Jiang et al., 2016); facilitates an approach-
oriented, implementational mindset (Harmon-Jones et al.,
2013); and is linked to motivational processes that involve a
desire for change and active goal engagement (Tamir et al.,
2016; Tsai et al., 2007).
The different functions of these two emotions imply that they
may exhibit diverging patterns of salience and adaptive value
as individuals age. Calmness may become more salient and
beneficial in old age, a period of the life course when
individuals commonly encounter developmental constraints
and losses that contribute to the experience of unattainable
goals (Heckhausen et al., 2019; Wrosch & Scheier, 2020).
Because calmness motivates a present-focused savoring and
acceptance of current life circumstances and associated goal
disengagement processes (Gilbert, 2014; Jiang et al., 2016;
Tamir et al., 2016), it may be well-suited to foster adaptation
to these intractable and stressful experiences and buffer
against accelerated declines in late life well-being and health.
In contrast, excitement may become less salient and adaptive
in late life since it facilitates a future-focused perspective that
underlies the motivation to seek out simulating new goal
pursuits (Izard, 1977; cf. Carstensen, 2006). High excitement
in old age could reflect a mismatch between motivational
function (pursuit of novel goals) and developmental context
(age-related constraints).
The Salience of Calmness and Excitement Across the
Adult Lifespan
Findings from previous research provide some
preliminary evidence for the changing salience of calmness
and excitement as people age. For instance, an early meta-
analysis based on a handful of studies found that calmness
increased and excitement decreased in old age (Pinquart,
2001). The only recent study to examine age differences in
these emotions found that calmness did not differ across
adulthood, whereas levels of excitement were lower in older
adults (Kern et al., 2014). However, the latter study was
based on an analysis of emotion word use on social media
platforms and did not include adults who were older than 65.
It therefore did not capture normal emotional experience in
people’s everyday lives and did not examine the
developmental phase when changes are most likely to occur
(i.e., late life).
Some indirect evidence for age differences in the
salience of calmness and excitement can also be gleaned
from research involving positive emotion aggregates that
distinguished low and high arousal emotions. For example,
Scheibe and colleagues (2013) found that low arousal
emotions including calmness were elevated in older, as
compared to younger, adults (see also Kessler & Staudinger,
2009). However, no age differences were observed in high
arousal emotions including excitement. These inconsistent
findings may be a function of adopting an approach that
aggregates across a diverse array of high arousal emotions
(e.g., excited, proud, delighted, elated, determined). Further
research is thus needed to clarify whether the salience of the
discrete emotions calmness and excitement differs as a
function of age.
The Consequences of Calmness and Excitement for Well-
Being and Health in Old Age
Few studies have considered whether calmness and
excitement have differential associations with well-being
and health in old age, a developmental period when the
consequences of emotions become pronounced (Charles &
Luong, 2013; Smith; Borchelt, Maier, & Jopp, 2002;
Kunzmann et al., 2019). Research examining the role of
positive emotions has typically focused on positive affect
broadly construed. Findings from this literature suggest that
positive emotions have benefits for central measures of older

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
4
adults’ well-being and health (for reviews, see Pressman &
Cohen, 2005; Pressman, Jenkins, & Moskowitz, 2019). In
particular, a trait-like propensity to experience positive affect
is associated with lower perceived stress (Denollet & De
Vries, 2006; Ezzati et al., 2013), depressive symptoms
(Andresen et al., 1994; Hirsch, Duberstien, Chapman, &
Lyness, 2007), severity of physical symptoms (Hu & Gruber,
2008; Wrosch, Miller, Lupien, & Pruessner, 2008), and
delayed onset of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular
disease (Ostir et al., 2001).
Noteworthy is that calmness is an emotion low in
physiological arousal that motivates present-focused rest and
recovery behaviors (Gilbert, 2014; Russell, 2003), whereas
excitement is an emotion high in arousal that motivates
future-focused novelty and stimulation seeking behaviors
(Izard, 1977; Russell, 2003). These differences suggest that
calmness and excitement may have diverging consequences
for late life health given their differential implications for the
physiological and behavioral pathways that link positive
emotions to health (Cohen & Pressman, 2006; Pressman &
Cohen, 2005; Pressman et al., 2019). For example, the
present-focused rest and recovery function of calmness may
protect health and well-being if the conservation, adjustment,
and disengagement behaviors it fosters helps older adults
cope with the common, but stressful, experience of
developmental constraints and uncontrollable losses (Smith
& Baltes, 1997). Calmness could also protect health in the
face of these stressful experiences by facilitating the
downregulation of high physiological arousal, which,
according the strength and vulnerability integration model,
becomes increasingly health-damaging as people age
(Charles, 2010). In contrast, the stimulation seeking function
of excitement that underlies goal directed behaviors is
unlikely to precipitate the same adaptive pathways in old age
when controllability over desired goals declines (Wrosch &
Scheier, 2020). Excitement could potentially even
undermine health and well-being if the stress of pursuing
unattainable goals precipitates high and sustained
physiological arousal, which becomes increasing costly in
old age (Charles, 2010).
Some indirect evidence in support of this perspective
stems from research involving positive emotion aggregates
that distinguished positive emotions based on low versus
high arousal. For example, McManus and colleagues (2019)
focused on well-being and found that individual differences
in low arousal emotions including calmness, but not high
arousal emotions including excitement, predicted lower
perceived stress, reduced anxiety, and higher mindfulness
(cf., Chu, Fung, & Chu, in press). Related research provides
preliminary evidence that calmness and excitement may
have unique associations with physical health. These studies
found that only individual differences in low arousal positive
emotions such as calmness were consistently associated with
reduced inflammation and better cardiovascular functioning
(Armon, Melamed, Berliner, & Shapira, 2014; Moreno,
Ganz, & Bower, 2016; Shirom, Melamed, Berliner, &
Shapira, 2009). However, this research focused on emotion
aggregates in young and middle-aged adults and was
conducted over relatively brief timespans. Research that
clearly distinguishes calmness and excitement is needed to
examine whether these distinct emotions have diverging
consequences for longitudinal trajectories of well-being and
health in old age.
The Present Research
We sought to extend the DEA to discrete positive
emotions in two studies. Each study tested one of the core
tenets of DEA theory in relation to (trait-like) individual
differences in the propensity to experience calmness and
excitement. Study 1 tested the prediction that trait-like
calmness and excitement should become most salient during
periods of the lifespan when they contribute to positive
developmental outcomes. Study 2 tested the prediction that
the adaptive value of these trait-like emotions should depend
on the fit of their motivational functions with age-related
changes in the controllability of life circumstances.
We focused on individual differences in the propensity
to experience calmness and excitement for several reasons.
First, as noted by Ekman (1999), all state-like emotions may
have an adaptive function in response to certain situational
demands. This may not be the case for individual differences
in trait-like emotions which are less situation dependent and
may generally become more or less adaptive with age
(Barlow et al., 2019; Kunzmann et al., 2018). Second, a
central focus in our study was to examine the long-term (10-
year) consequences of calmness and excitement for
longitudinal well-being and health. As discussed by Fleeson
(2004) and Pressman et al. (2005, 2019), the decision on
whether to use state or trait-like indicators of emotion as
predictors depends on the research question and the nature of
the outcome measure. When the intent is to predict
momentary behavior and outcomes (e.g., acute stress
response), state indicators are most relevant and
recommended. When the intent is to predict long-term levels
and trajectories of these outcomes (e.g., development of
chronic conditions), trait-like indicators, which reflect
propensities to experience emotions over longer periods of
time and in many situations, are most relevant and

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
5
recommended. Consistent with this rationale, theory and
evidence indicate that trait-like positive emotions are most
pertinent to predicting longitudinal change in well-being and
health outcomes that unfold over extended time periods
(Cohen & Pressman, 2006; Pressman & Cohen, 2005;
Pressman et al., 2019). We thus focused on individual
difference indicators of calmness and excitement considering
that our outcome measures involved long-term trajectories of
well-being and health.
Study 1 was based on a one-week daily diary study of
older and younger adults and examined age-related shifts in
the propensity to experience calmness and excitement. We
expected calmness to be more salient in older adulthood and
excitement to be more salient in young adulthood based on
the congruence of their respective motivational functions to
age-specific opportunities and constraints (Heckhausen et
al., 2019; Kunzmann & Wrosch, 2018).
Study 2 was based on a 10-year study of older adults and
examined whether individual differences in the propensity to
experience calmness and excitement had distinct
consequences for changes in key indicators of late life well-
being (perceived stress, depressive symptoms) and health
(physical symptoms, chronic conditions). These indicators
are broadly relevant to quality of life and vulnerable to
declines with advancing age as individuals encounter
increasing developmental losses and constraints (Bunda &
Busseri, 2019; CDC, 2013; Herriot, Wrosch, Hamm, &
Pruessner, 2020; Sutin et al., 2013). We hypothesized that
calmness would predict more adaptive trajectories of late life
well-being and health, but that such associations would
depend on individual differences in perceived control.
Specifically, we expected calmness to buffer against health
declines for older adults with low control due to its capacity
to facilitate rest and recovery in the present, conservation of
resources, and goal adjustment and disengagement (Gilbert,
2014; Tamir et al., 2016). These motivational processes can
foster adjustment to intractable losses and may protect
against accelerated declines in well-being and health for
older adults who encounter uncontrollable life circumstances
(Heckhausen et al., 2013; Wrosch & Scheier, 2020). We
expected calmness to have fewer benefits for older adults
with high control who face fewer age-related constraints.
Excitement was expected to have either no association
or a maladaptive association with longitudinal changes in
well-being and health. Specifically, the motivational
functions of excitement may become less adaptive (and
possibly dysfunctional) as people age and have fewer
opportunities to actively pursue novel and stimulating goals
(Heckhausen et al., 2013, 2019; Wrosch & Scheier, 2020).
We also examined whether perceived control moderated
these associations based on the premise that excitement may
predict maladaptive trajectories for low control individuals
who face more age-related constraints. In contrast, we
expected excitement may be less detrimental for high control
older adults who experience fewer constraints.
We expected that calmness (and excitement) would
exhibit a similar pattern of associations across our different
outcome measures considering that changes in well-being
and health are coupled across the adult lifespan and remained
intertwined in old age (Smith, Borchelt, Maier, & Jopp,
2002; Schöllgen, Morack, Infurna, Ram, & Gerstorf, 2016).
Common developmental losses in old age are inherently
stressful and associated with increases in perceived stress
and depressive symptomology that can exacerbate late life
declines in physical health (Carney & Freedland, 2017;
Dougall & Baum, 2012; Juster, McEwen, & Lupien, 2010;
Kiecolt-Glaser & Glaser, 2002). Due to the nature of these
interconnected processes and the strong relationship between
low well-being and poor health, supplemental analyses
explored whether the association between each emotion and
changes in health were mediated by changes in perceived
stress and depressive symptoms.
Study 1
Method
Participants and Procedure
Study 1 data were based on a sample of older (aged
65+) and younger (aged 18-35) adults who participated in the
Emotion Regulation Study (ERS). Participants were
recruited through newspaper advertisements in the greater
Montreal area and online advertisements on a university
classifieds website. The only recruitment criterion was that
participants were between 18 and 35 years old or 65+ years
old because the study was conducted to obtain an age-
stratified sample. The ERS recruited a total of 146
participants (nold = 73, nyoung = 73) who returned their daily
diary questionnaires.
Participants completed a baseline questionnaire in the
laboratory. The baseline questionnaire included an array of
psychosocial and demographic variables. Following the
baseline questionnaire, participants completed daily diary
questionnaires that included assessments of calmness and
excitement. They were instructed to complete the daily
questionnaires at home over the course of seven consecutive
days towards the end of each day. After completion of the
daily diary questionnaire, participants were asked to return
the questionnaire through the mail using a pre-paid postage
envelope. Participants were compensated CAD $50 for their

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
6
participation after the completion of the baseline
questionnaire. Informed consent was obtained from all
participants prior to participation. All procedures and
methods were approved by the Concordia University
Research Ethics Board.
Because we were interested in age differences in daily
emotions, the only inclusion criterion for the present study
was that participants returned at least one daily diary
questionnaire that included data on their calmness or
excitement (n = 146). Participants completed an average of
6.6 of the 7 daily diaries (range = 2-7; all but 1 participant
completed 3+). Older participants (n = 73) had a mean age
of 75, were 59% female, and 69% had completed some post-
secondary education. Younger participants (n = 73) had a
mean age of 23, were 65% female, and 51% had completed
some post-secondary education.
Study Measures
Calmness and excitement. Participants were asked to
indicate the extent to which they experienced calmness and
excitement each day using daily diaries. Consistent with
previous research (Barlow et al., 2019; Wrosch et al., 2018;
Hill et al., 2020), these emotions were measured at the end
of each day over the course of one week using single-item
measures (0 = very slightly or not at all, 4 = extremely).
Positive associations were observed across each one-day
assessment interval between calmness scores (rs = .15 to .50,
ps = .103 to .001, M[r] = .37) and between excitement scores
(rs = .26 to .46, all ps < .01; M[r] = .34). Root mean square
of successive differences (RMSSD) analyses for calmness
(Mrmssd = 1.25) and excitement (Mrmssd = 0.94) indicated that
these emotions varied by less than 1.25 units from day-to-
day for a majority of participants (Jahng, Wood, & Trull,
2008). See online supplemental Table S1 for descriptive
statistics and correlations and Figures S1-S4 for daily
trajectories.
Demographic variables. Age, sex, and socioeconomic
status were assessed in the baseline questionnaire. Age was
dichotomized due to the bimodal distribution of this measure
and because our research questions focused on age
differences in calmness and excitement between younger and
older adults (0 = young adults, 1 = old adults; 50% older
adults). Sex was based on participant self-reports (0 = male,
1 = female; 62% female).
The ERS included three self-report measures of
socioeconomic status (SES): education (0 = no education, 1
= high school, 2 = collegial or trade, 3 = bachelor’s degree,
4 = masters or doctorate degree), income (0 = less than
$17,000, 1 = $17,001 to $34,000, 2 = $34,001 to $51,000, 3
= 51,001 to $68,000, 4 = 68,001 to 85,000, 5 = more than
$85,000), and perceived socioeconomic status using the
MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status (Adler, Epel,
Castellazzo, & Ickovics, 2000). Because the three SES
measures were positively correlated (rs = .20 to .47, ps <
.05), we computed a composite score of SES for further
analysis by averaging the three standardized measures (M =
0.04, SD = 0.77). However, we note that our findings
remained consistent in models that controlled for education
only or subjective SES only.
Results and Discussion
Rationale for Analyses
Multilevel models were estimated with Mplus 7
(Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2015) to assess individual
differences in older and younger adults’ calmness and
excitement. We estimated two-level models with
measurement occasions (Level-1) nested within participants
(Level-2). Level-1 models included an intercept, person-
centered score of time in study, and a residual term. We
person-centered time in the models for both studies based on
recommendations by Blozis and Cho (2008) who showed
that non-centered time can result in underestimating the
random slope coefficients. The intercepts in these models
reflected the outcome measure of interest because they
represented average levels of (individual differences in)
calmness and excitement across the one-week study. Level-
1 models were specified as follows:
Yij = β0j + β1j (Time) + rij
Level-2 models included age, sex, and SES as
predictors of the Level-1 intercepts. This permitted us to test
our research questions that focused on whether age predicted
individual differences (average levels) in calmness and
excitement. Age, sex, and SES were grand-mean centered.
Level-2 models were specified as follows:
β0j = γ00 + γ01 (Age)j + γ02 (Sex)j + γ03 (SES)j + u0j
β1j = γ10 + u1j
Main Analyses
Table 1 presents the results of the models predicting
individual differences in calmness and excitement. Results
were consistent with the hypotheses and showed that older
adults had higher levels of calmness (b = 0.29, SE = .133, p
= .029) and lower levels of excitement (b = -0.35, SE = .115,
p = .003) relative to young adults. As shown in Figure S1,
calmness was approximately one third of a unit higher and

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
7
excitement approximately one third of a unit lower in old
age. Figure S1 also suggests the disparity between the
(higher) levels of calmness and (lower) levels of excitement
becomes pronounced in old age. These findings are
consistent with DEA theory and suggest that calmness and
excitement were most salient during developmental periods
during which their respective motivational functions may
support adaptive responses to age-specific opportunities and
constraints (Kunzmann et al., 2014; Kunzmann & Wrosch,
2018). Study 2 examined the health implications of these
differences in late life emotion salience.
Supplemental Analyses
Supplemental multilevel models tested whether the
observed age differences in calmness and excitement were
robust when controlling for the respective other emotion.
Results were consistent with those observed in our main
analyses. Older (vs. younger) adults (a) reported higher
calmness (b = .39, SE = .137, p = .005) when controlling for
excitement and (b) lower excitement (b = -.40, SE = .112, p
< .001) when controlling for calmness. Supplemental
analyses also showed that that results were consistent when
excluding one participant who completed less than three of
seven diaries: Older (vs. younger) adults reported higher
calmness (b = .30, SE = .133, p = .023) and lower excitement
(b = -.35, SE = .115, p = .002).
Supplemental multilevel analyses further examined
whether observed age differences in the salience of calmness
and excitement may simply reflect general developmental
trajectories of low arousal emotions (which are thought to
increase) and high arousal emotions (which are thought to
decrease). To do so, we examined age differences in two
other positive emotions assessed in the ERS study that have
been classified as relatively high arousal (pride) and
relatively moderate arousal (satisfaction; Watson &
Tellegan, 1985, 1999; see also Bliss-Moreau et al., 2020;
Russell, 1980; Watson et al., 1988; Yik, Russell, & Steiger,
2011). If age-related shifts in salience were solely due to
arousal rather than the qualities of the discrete emotion, pride
and excitement should exhibit relatively similar age
trajectories. An arousal perspective also implies that
satisfaction and calmness should exhibit relatively distinct
trajectories, such that the relatively moderate arousal
emotion satisfaction should remain fairly stable whereas the
low arousal emotion calmness should become more salient
with age. Our supplemental analyses suggested this was not
the case.
Results revealed (a) no age differences in pride (b = -
.11, SE = .148, p = .439) and (b) that older adults had higher
levels of satisfaction than younger adults (b = .29, SE = .143,
p = .045). These supplemental analyses point to the
incremental value of a discrete emotions approach to
emotional aging in showing that certain high arousal
emotions may decrease with age (excitement), whereas other
relatively high arousal emotions may remain stable (pride).
Further, results suggest that certain low (calmness) and
relatively low arousal (satisfaction) emotions may exhibit
similar changes with age (Harmon-Jones et al., 2016). These
findings suggest that the observed age differences in the
salience of calmness and excitement may not be fully
explained based on differences in arousal.
Supplemental correlational analyses were also
conducted to examine whether high levels of calmness may
reflect higher levels of positive emotion in general. The
pattern of correlations between calmness, excitement, pride,
and satisfaction suggested this may not be the case. Calmness
exhibited only a small positive correlation with excitement
(r = .19) and moderate positive correlations with pride (r =
.30) and satisfaction (r = .48). Of note, these latter
correlations were smaller in size than the corresponding
excitement correlations with pride and satisfaction (rs = .51,
.51).
Study 2
Method
Participants and Procedure
Study 2 data were based on a heterogeneous sample of
community-dwelling older adults who participated in the
Montreal Aging and Health Study (MAHS). A detailed
summary of MAHS can be found elsewhere (Wrosch et al.,
2017, 2018). Briefly, MAHS is an ongoing study of older
adults from the greater Montreal area who were recruited via
advertisements in the local newspapers and were 60+ years
at baseline assessment (n = 391; 2004-2016). Baseline data
were assessed in 2004 with six subsequent waves of data
collected at approximately two-year intervals after baseline.
The sample was refreshed and new baseline data assessed in
2014 with a follow-up assessment conducted two years later
(Barlow et al., 2019).
Participants completed questionnaires in the laboratory
or at home at each wave. The questionnaire included an array
of psychosocial, health, and demographic variables. At each
wave, participants also completed three daily questionnaires
that included assessments of calmness and excitement from
Wave 2 through Wave 7 (data on these emotions were not
collected at Wave 1). Participants were instructed to
complete the daily questionnaires over the course of one
week at the end of three non-consecutive days. Non-

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
8
consecutive days were chosen to minimize the influence of
specific events on the collected measures. Participants were
compensated for their efforts (CAD $50 for Waves 1-3 and
CAD $70 for Waves 4-7). Informed consent was obtained
from all participants prior to participation, and the Concordia
University Research Ethics Board approved all procedures
and methods.
Because we were interested in examining whether
calmness and excitement predicted changes in well-being
and health over time, study inclusion criteria were that
participants provided data at two or more waves between
Waves 2 and 7 (data on calmness and excitement were not
collected at Wave 1). Participants in the analyzed sample (n
= 340) had a mean age of 76, were 57% female, and 62% had
completed some post-secondary education. The distribution
of sociodemographic variables was within the normative
range of older Canadians residing at home (National
Advisory Council on Aging, 2006).
Study Measures (Waves 2-7)
Calmness and excitement. Participants provided data
on calmness and excitement in Waves 2-7. They were asked
to indicate the extent to which they experienced calmness
and excitement at the end of each of three non-consecutive
days over the course of one week using single-item measures
(0 = very slightly or not at all, 4 = extremely). Three non-
consecutive days were chosen to minimize the influence of
specific events on the emotions and to obtain reliable
estimates of calmness (as = .72 to .85, M[a] = .80) and
excitement within each wave (as = .73 to .86, M[a] = .78).
We computed mean scores of the three daily calmness and
excitement measures for each wave. Both emotions exhibited
acceptable stability across each two-year assessment interval
(calmness: rs = .46 to .57, all ps < .01, M[r] = .52;
excitement: rs = .48 to .65, all ps < .01; M[r] = .54). We also
calculated the root mean square of successive differences
(RMSSD) for calmness (Mrmssd = 0.77) and excitement
(Mrmssd = 0.53) to evaluate stability in the emotions across
waves (Jahng, Wood, & Trull, 2008). Results indicated that
calmness and excitement varied by less than 1 unit from
wave-to-wave for a large majority of participants. Calmness
(M = 1.92, SD = 0.81) and excitement (M = 0.55, SD = 0.63)
scores were subsequently averaged across waves to obtain
10-year individual difference measures of these emotions.
We adopted this approach based on theory and evidence
showing that trait-like positive emotions are most pertinent
to longitudinal change in well-being and health outcomes
that unfold over extended time periods (Cohen & Pressman,
2006; Pressman et al., 2005, 2019).
It is important to note that, although calmness and
excitement were averaged over different time periods in
Study 1 and Study 2, both studies assessed these emotions
using same methodology (daily diaries over 1-week periods).
Supporting the comparability of these measures, the mean
ratings and variances of calmness (Ms = 1.95, 1.92; SDs =
0.81, 0.81) and excitement (Ms = 0.47, 0.55; SDs = 0.60,
0.63) from the older adult samples in Study 1 and Study 2
were nearly identical. See Table S2 for a summary of
descriptive statistics and intercorrelations between study
variables.
Perceived control. Global levels of perceived control
were measured with a single item in Waves 2-7 that was
derived from the Midlife in the United States Study
(MIDUS; see Lachman & Weaver, 1998). Participants rated
the amount of control they had over their life overall these
days (0 = no control, 10 = total control). Perceived control
exhibited acceptable stability across each two-year
assessment interval (rs = .52 to .68, all ps < .01; M[r] = .62).
Consistent with previous research (Wrosch et al., 2018), we
averaged scores across waves to obtain an individual
difference measure of perceived control (M = 7.32, SD =
1.59).
Research by Lachman and Weaver (1998) provides
evidence for the validity of this single-item measure by
showing that it exhibits moderate to strong associations with
mastery (r = .37) and constraints (r = -.42), two core
dimensions of perceived control (Lachman, 2006). This
research also showed the single-item control measure and the
multi-item mastery measure had nearly identical patterns of
correlations with health outcomes assessed in MIDUS,
including chronic conditions (rs = -.16, -.15), acute
conditions (rs = -.24, -.18), and functional limitations (rs = -
.15, -.18). Lachman and Weaver found the single-item
control measure and the constraints measure exhibited an
expected, inverse pattern of correlations with these health
outcomes.
Perceived stress. The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale
was assessed in Waves 2-7 (Cohen et al., 1983). Participants
rated how frequently they experienced 10 different situations
over the past month (e.g., “How often have you been upset
because of something that happened unexpectedly?”).
Responses were recorded using a 5-point scale (1 = never, 5
= very often), and a mean score was computed for each wave.
Perceived stress exhibited acceptable reliability at each wave
(as = .86 to .90, M[a] = .88) and was positively correlated
across each two-year assessment interval (rs = .59 to .76, all
ps < .01, M[r] = .70).

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
9
Depressive symptoms. The 10-item Center for
Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D10) was
used to measure depressive symptoms in Waves 2-7 (e.g., “I
felt depressed”, “Everything I did was an effort”). The CES-
D10 has been validated for use with older adults in previous
research (Andresen et al., 1994). Participants rated how
frequently they had experienced each of 10 depressive
symptoms during the past week using a four-point scale (0 =
less than one day, 3 = 5-7 days). A mean depressive
symptoms score was computed for each wave. The CES-D10
scale exhibited acceptable reliability at each wave (as = .79
to .86, M[a] = .82) and was positively correlated across each
two-year assessment interval (rs = .53 to .71, all ps < .01;
M[r] = .61).
Physical symptoms. Participants responded to a
physical symptoms checklist in Waves 2-7. Participants
reported whether they had experienced each of 10 physical
health symptoms during the past month (e.g., stomach pain,
chest pain, joint pain, or shortness of breath; PRIME MD:
Spitzer et al., 1994). A sum score was calculated that
reflected the total number of symptoms reported at each
wave. Physical symptoms positively correlated across each
two-year assessment interval (rs = .48 to .74, all ps < .01;
M[r] = .64).
Chronic conditions. Participants responded to a
checklist used in previous research (Barlow et al., 2019;
Wrosch, Schulz, Miller, Lupien, & Dunne, 2007) that asked
about whether they had 17 common age-related chronic
health conditions in Waves 2-7 (e.g., cardiovascular disease,
arthritis, cancer, or diabetes). Chronic conditions at each
wave were indexed by summing the total number of medical
diagnoses reported. Chronic conditions were positively
correlated across each two-year assessment interval (rs = .68
to .81, all ps < .01; M[r] = .74).
Demographic variables. Mean age, sex, and
socioeconomic status were also included as covariates in the
analyses. Age (M = 75.67, SD = 6.79) and sex (57% female)
were based on participant self-reports. MAHS included three
self-report measures of socioeconomic status (SES):
education (0 = no education, 1 = high school, 2 = collegial
or trade, 3 = bachelor’s degree, 4 = masters or doctorate
degree), income (0 = less than $17,000, 1 = $17,001 to
$34,000, 2 = $34,001 to $51,000, 3 = 51,001 to $68,000, 4 =
68,001 to 85,000, 5 = more than $85,000), and perceived
socioeconomic status using the MacArthur Scale of
Subjective Social Status (Adler et al., 2000). Because the
three SES measures were positively correlated within each
wave (rs = .26 to .54, ps < .01), we computed a composite
score of SES for further analysis by averaging the three
standardized measures (M = 0.01, SD = 0.75).
Results and Discussion
Rationale for Analyses
Multilevel growth models were estimated with Mplus
7 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2015) to assess whether
individual differences in calmness and excitement predicted
longitudinal changes in late life well-being and health. We
estimated two-level models with measurement occasions
(Level-1) nested within participants (Level-2). Level-1
models included an intercept, person-centered scores of time
in study, and a residual term. The intercepts in these models
represented average levels of perceived stress, depressive
symptoms, chronic conditions, and physical symptoms
across the 10-year study. Time slopes in these models
represented the amount of yearly change in the outcome
measures. Level-1 models were specified as follows:
Yij = β0j + β1j (Time) + rij
Level-2 models included age, sex, SES, calmness,
excitement, and perceived control as predictors of the Level-
1 intercepts and time slopes. All Level-2 predictors were
grand-mean centered. Emotion x Perceived Control
interaction terms were also included as Level 2 predictors.
This permitted a test of whether individual differences in
calmness and excitement predicted 10-year levels and
changes in older adults’ well-being and health, as moderated
by perceived control. Level-2 models were specified as
follows:
β0j = γ00 + γ01 (Age)j + γ02 (Sex)j + γ03 (SES)j + γ04 (Calmness)j
+ γ05 (Excitement)j + γ06 (Perceived Control)j + γ07
(Calmness x Perceived Control)j + γ08 (Excitement x
Perceived Control)j + u0j
β1j = γ10 + γ11 (Age)j + γ12 (Sex)j + γ13 (SES)j + γ14 (Calmness)j
+ γ15 (Excitement)j + γ16 (Perceived Control)j + γ17
(Calmness x Perceived Control)j + γ18 (Excitement x
Perceived Control)j + u1j
Main Analyses
Perceived stress (see Table 2). Tables 3-6 present the
results of models predicting 10-year levels and changes in
the well-being and health outcomes. Higher levels of SES,
calmness, and perceived control were associated with lower
average perceived stress, whereas higher levels of
excitement were associated with higher average stress.

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
10
Results also showed that higher levels of calmness
predicted reductions in perceived stress over time. The
Calmness x Perceived Control interaction was a significant
predictor of the time slope and indicated the association
between calmness and changes in stress was moderated by
perceived control (see Figure 1a). Simple slope analyses
probed the interaction and assessed the effects of calmness at
low (-1 SD) and high (+1 SD) levels of perceived control
(Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken, 2002; Hayes, 2013).
Supporting the hypotheses, results indicated that calmness
buffered against increases in stress for only older adults with
low perceived control (b = -0.04, SE = .013, p = .002).
Calmness was not associated with changes in stress for those
with high perceived control (b = -0.01, SE = .008, p = .398).
Neither Excitement nor the Excitement x Perceived Control
interaction predicted the stress time slope.
Depressive symptoms (see Table 3). Higher levels of
SES, calmness, and perceived control were associated with
lower average depressive symptoms. The Calmness x
Perceived Control interaction predicted the depressive
symptoms time slope. Supporting the hypotheses, simple
slope analyses showed that calmness buffered against
increases in depressive symptoms for only older adults with
low perceived control (b = -0.05, SE = .022, p = .034; see
Figure 1b). Calmness was not associated with changes in
depressive symptoms for those with high perceived control
(b = 0.01, SE = .014, p = .733). Excitement was a marginally
significant predictor of the depressive symptoms time slope.
This indicates that high levels of excitement were associated
with marginal increases in depressive symptoms over time.
The Excitement x Perceived Control interaction was not
significant.
Physical symptoms (see Table 4). Higher levels of
calmness and perceived control were associated with lower
average physical symptoms, whereas being female was
associated with higher physical symptoms. The Calmness x
Perceived Control interaction predicted the physical
symptoms time slope. Simple slope analyses revealed a
pattern consistent with the well-being outcomes. As shown
in Figure 2a and consistent with the hypotheses, calmness
buffered against increases in physical symptoms for older
adults with low perceived control (b = -0.08, SE = .039, p =
.048). Calmness was not associated with changes in physical
symptoms for those with high perceived control (b = 0.01,
SE = .023, p = .567). Excitement marginally predicted the
physical symptoms time slope. This indicates that high levels
of excitement were associated with marginal increases in
physical symptoms over time. The Excitement x Perceived
Control interaction was not significant.
Chronic conditions (see Table 5). Higher levels of
SES and perceived control were associated with fewer
chronic conditions, whereas being older was associated with
more chronic conditions. Age predicted increasing chronic
conditions over time. The Calmness x Perceived Control
interaction predicted the chronic conditions time slope.
Supporting the hypotheses, simple slope analyses showed
that calmness buffered against increases in chronic
conditions for only older adults with low perceived control
(b = -0.06, SE = .030, p = .051; see Figure 2b). Calmness was
not associated with change in chronic conditions for those
with high perceived control (b = 0.02, SE = .024, p = .441).
Neither Excitement nor the Excitement x Perceived Control
interaction predicted the chronic conditions time slope.
Simple time slopes. Calmness x Perceived Control
interactions on the time slopes can be conceptualized as
three-way cross-level interactions (i.e., Calmness x
Perceived Control x Time). We also probed these cross-level
interactions by examining the simple slope of time on each
outcome measure at low (-1 SD) and high (+1 SD) levels of
calmness and perceived control. Simple slope analyses
showed that perceived stress (b = 0.04, SE = .013, p = .003),
depressive symptoms (b = 0.05, SE = .023, p = .019),
physical symptoms (b = 0.15, SE = .039, p < .001), and
chronic conditions (b = 0.12, SE = .031, p < .001) increased
over time for those with low levels of calmness and
perceived control. Supporting our buffering hypothesis,
stress marginally decreased over time (b = -0.03, SE = .014,
p = .059), whereas depressive symptoms, physical
symptoms, and chronic conditions remained stable (ps > .30)
for older adults with high levels of calmness and low
perceived control.
These simple time slopes suggested low (-1 SD) control
individuals who reported low (-1 SD) vs. high (+1 SD) levels
of calmness experienced differential 10-year changes in the
outcome measures that were of practical significance. For
example, for older adults with low control, those with high
levels of calmness developed approximately 0.75 fewer
depressive symptoms than their peers with low calmness
over 10 years (see Figure 1b). Perhaps most consequential,
low control older adults with high calmness developed
approximately 1 fewer chronic condition over the 10-year
study period relative to their peers with low calmness (see
Figure 2b).
Supplemental Analyses
Curvilinear excitement associations. Supplemental
analyses explored whether moderate levels of excitement in
old age may have adaptive consequences by testing quadratic

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
11
associations between excitement and the outcomes. Results
showed neither the excitement2 main effect nor the
Excitement2 x Perceived Control interaction predicted
change over time in depressive symptoms, physical
symptoms, or chronic conditions (all ps > .05). An
excitement2 main effect on perceived stress was observed,
such that very high levels of excitement were associated with
increases in stress over time (excitement b = -.02, SE = .013,
p = .115, excitement2 b = .02, SE = .011, p = .038). No
Excitement2 x Perceived Control interaction was observed
for perceived stress (p = .220).
Reverse directionality. Supplemental multilevel
models were conducted to explore reverse directionality.
These models tested whether individual differences in well-
being (perceived stress, depressive symptoms) and health
(physical symptoms, chronic conditions) simultaneously
predicted longitudinal changes in calmness and excitement.
Results showed perceived stress, depressive symptoms,
physical symptoms, and chronic conditions did not predict
changes in calmness (p range = .081-.214) or excitement (p
range = .216-.755). Taken together with our main findings,
results suggest that individual differences in calmness may
be a stronger predictor (precursor) of subsequent changes in
health and well-being than the reverse pathways.
Interindividual differences in intraindividual
variability. Supplemental multilevel models included
RMSSD scores of calmness and excitement as Level 2
predictor variables to account for between-person
differences in within-person variability in the emotions.
Results of these models that controlled for Level 2 RMSSD
main effects were consistent with those observed in the main
analyses (see Tables S3-S6): Calmness x Perceived Control
interactions remained significant predictors of the time
slopes of perceived stress (b = .01, SE = .005 p = .008),
depressive symptoms (b = .02, SE = .008, p = .015), physical
symptoms (b = .03, SE = .015, p = .051), and chronic
conditions (b = .03, SE = .012, p = .038).
Mediation. Increasing evidence suggests that
elevations in perceived stress and depressive symptoms
contribute to poor health in old age (see Carney & Freedland,
2017; Dougall & Baum, 2012; Juster, McEwen, & Lupien,
2010; Kiecolt-Glaser & Glaser, 2002). Supplemental parallel
1
Both PPGMs with Ddepressive symptoms as a mediator exhibited
convergence problems: the model predicting Dchronic conditions
failed to converge; the model predicting Dphysical symptoms
model converged, but parameter estimates were not trustworthy
due to a latent covariance matrix that was not positive definite.
Both PPGMs with Dperceived stress as a mediator converged.
However, model estimated (latent) correlations between calmness
process growth models (PPGM) thus assessed whether
changes in these measures of well-being mediated the
conditional associations between the discrete emotions and
changes in physical symptoms and chronic conditions.
PPGM is a multivariate latent variable approach that allows
the simultaneous estimation of multiple time slope
parameters (Muthén, 1997; Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2015).
It enabled us to regress the slopes of (changes in) the health
outcomes on the slopes of (changes in) perceived stress and
depressive symptoms. Prior to proceeding with multivariate
PPGMs, we tested whether the main findings were consistent
when using univariate latent growth models (LGM). All
models controlled for the demographic covariates (age, sex,
SES). Results of the LGMs replicated the main results:
Calmness x Perceived Control interactions predicted changes
in (the slopes of) perceived stress, depressive symptoms,
physical symptoms, and chronic conditions (ps < .05).
Simple slope analyses were consistent with the main findings
and showed calmness buffered against increases in each
outcome for only older adults with low perceived control (ps
< .05). Consistent with the main results, no Excitement x
Perceived Control interactions were observed for the
outcome measures in the LGMs (ps > .05).
We subsequently conducted four separate PPGMs that
tested whether changes in perceived stress and depressive
symptoms mediated the conditional associations between
calmness and changes in the health outcomes. All models
controlled for the demographic covariates. Results showed
that the Calmness x Perceived Control interaction no longer
predicted changes in (the slopes of) physical symptoms or
chronic conditions when changes in perceived stress or
depressive symptoms were controlled (ps > .70). However,
the PPGMs exhibited model estimation and convergence
problems due to using correlated predictor variables to
explain limited variance in the health change measures.
1
We thus assessed more parsimonious PPGMs with only
the mediators and demographic covariates specified to have
direct effects on the health outcomes (only indirect effects on
health were specified for the emotions and their interactions
with perceived control). These four models provided
preliminary tests of mediation (see online supplemental
Figure S2). Results showed that (a) the Calmness x Control
and Dperceived stress were heavily inflated (more than twice as
large) when compared to those obtained in the univariate LGMs.
This resulted in model estimated SEs for Dperceived stress that
were more than double the size of those observed in simplified
PPGMs that excluded the correlated predictor variable (calmness).

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
12
interaction term predicted changes in perceived stress and
depressive symptoms (ps < .05) and (b) changes (increases)
in perceived stress and depressive symptoms predicted
changes (increases) in physical symptoms and chronic
conditions (ps < .05). Tests of mediation showed that, for
only those with low perceived control, calmness indirectly
buffered against increases in physical symptoms (b = -0.13,
SE = .029, p < .001) and chronic conditions (b = -0.09, SE =
.027, p = .002) via reductions in perceived stress. The same
pattern of indirect effects was observed for physical
symptoms (b = -0.11, SE = .027, p < .001) and chronic
conditions (b =-0.08, SE = .023, p = .001) when changes in
depressive symptoms was assessed as the mediator. Results
were consistent in separate PPGM mediation models that (a)
specified direct main effects of calmness, excitement, and
control on the health outcomes or (b) specified direct
Calmness x Control and Excitement x Control interaction
effects on the health outcomes.
General Discussion
The present studies sought to shed light on the late life
salience and health consequences of two discrete positive
emotions that have contrasting motivational functions
(calmness and excitement). Findings advance the literature
in providing initial evidence that positive emotions posited
to motivate present-focused rest and recovery behaviors
(calmness) become more salient in old age, whereas those
that motivate future-focused novelty and stimulation
behaviors (excitement) become less salient. Results also
inform theories of emotional aging in showing that discrete
positive emotions may have diverging health consequences
as people age (Carstensen, 2006; Charles, 2010; Fredrickson,
2001; Kunzmann & Wrosch, 2018). Our findings suggest
that individual differences in calmness, but not excitement,
can buffer against late life declines in well-being and health.
Age Differences in the Salience of Calmness and
Excitement
Study 1 was among the first to examine differences
between older and younger adults in the salience of calmness
and excitement. An expected pattern was observed, such that
calmness was higher and excitement was lower in older, as
compared with younger, adults. These findings support DEA
theory which proposes that emotions should become salient
during periods of the life course when their motivational
functions are most adaptive (Kunzmann et al., 2014;
Kunzmann & Wrosch, 2018). Calmness is a present-focused
emotion that has been posited to facilitate a broad and
deliberative mindset, being in the moment, and rest and
recovery processes linked to conservation of resources and
the adjustment of unattainable goals (Gilbert, 2014; Harmon-
Jones et al., 2013, 2016; Jiang et al., 2016; Tamir et al.,
2016). These functions may facilitate adaptive coping with
irreversible developmental losses that become increasingly
common as people age (Heckhausen et al., 2013; Wrosch &
Scheier, 2020).
In contrast, excitement is a future-focused emotion that
has been posited to mobilize energy to seek out novelty and
stimulation, motivate a desire for change, and foster active
goal engagement (Harmon-Jones et al., 2013; Izard, 1977;
Jiang et al., 2016; Tamir et al., 2016). These functions may
facilitate adaptive responses to increasing opportunities to
pursue developmental goals and tasks in young adulthood,
but may be less well-suited to cope with intractable
challenges and losses faced in old age (Heckhausen et al.,
2010; Wrosch & Scheier, 2020).
Mean level differences between calmness and
excitement observed for our sample of older adults in Study
2 were relatively consistent with those documented in Study
1. Older adults in both studies reported substantially higher
levels of calmness (Ms = 1.95, 1.92) than excitement (Ms =
0.47, 0.55). Correlations between excitement and age were
also relatively consistent across studies (rs = -.27, -.12).
However, this was not the case for the calmness-age
correlation, which was positive in our Study 1 sample of
younger and older adults (r = .19) and negative in our Study
2 sample of older adults (r = -.13). The latter finding could
be a function of adult lifespan changes in calmness, which
may peak in early old age and then decline in advanced old
age if accumulating developmental losses make it
increasingly difficult to remain calm. Such a pattern would
be consistent with age-related changes in psychological well-
being, which increase throughout most of the lifespan but
exhibit declines in very old age, becoming pronounced
several years before death (Gerstorf et al., 2010).
Our supplemental Study 1 findings point to the
incremental value of a discrete emotions approach in
suggesting that age-related changes in the salience of
calmness and excitement may not simply reflect general
developmental trajectories of low and high arousal emotions
(cf. Pinquart, 2001; Scheibe et al., 2013; Kessler &
Staudinger, 2009). Results showed that, although both pride
and excitement reflect high or relatively high arousal
emotions, age differences in salience were only observed for
excitement (and not pride). In line with previous research
(Gwozdz & Sousa-Poza, 2010; Maher et al., 2015), we found
that certain low (calmness) and relatively low arousal
(satisfaction) emotions exhibit similar age differences. This

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
13
similar pattern may be due to calmness and satisfaction
sharing some similar functions (e.g., facilitating goal
disengagement; Harmon-Jones et al., 2016). These findings
suggest that the observed age differences in the salience of
calmness and excitement may not be fully explained by
differences in arousal.
The Adaptive Health Value of Calmness and Excitement
in Old Age
Study 2 built on Study 1 by examining the health
consequences of individual differences in calmness and
excitement in old age. Findings extend previous research
(Armon et al., 2014; Pressman et al., 2005, 2019; Shirom et
al., 2009) by showing that discrete positive emotions that
differ in their physiological profiles and motivational
functions have diverging implications for longitudinal health
trajectories in old age. A consistent pattern was observed
across outcomes, such that high levels of calmness, but not
excitement, buffered against 10-year declines in
psychological well-being and physical health for those with
low perceived control.
Theory and evidence suggest that older adults with low
perceptions of control commonly face more developmental
losses and constraints (Chipperfield, Hamm, Perry, &
Ruthig, 2017; Drewelies et al., 2017, 2018; Hamm et al.,
2019; Heckhausen et al., 2013; Infurna & Okun, 2015;
Wrosch et al., 2018). Our findings were consistent with this
argument in showing that low perceived control was
associated with higher levels of perceived stress and more
depressive symptoms, physical symptoms, and chronic
conditions (see Tables 3-6). Calmness may be particularly
beneficial in such low control circumstances due to its
capacity to facilitate rest and recovery, goal adjustment, and
disengagement from unattainable goals (Gilbert, 2014;
Harmon-Jones et al., 2016; Tamir et al., 2016). Previous
research points to the importance of goal adjustment and
disengagement processes in protecting well-being for those
who encounter unattainable goals in old age (Dunne,
Wrosch, & Miller, 2011; Wrosch & Scheier, 2020). These
motivational functions could thus be critical in sustaining
well-being and buffering against accelerated health declines
for older adults facing uncontrollable stressors (Barlow et al.,
2019; Wrosch & Scheier, 2020).
Supplemental analyses explored psychological
mechanisms that may account for (mediate) the influence of
calmness on the physical health outcomes for low control
individuals. We examined perceived stress and depressive
symptoms as mediators based on research showing both
contribute to physical illness and disease via biobehavioral
pathways (Carney & Fredland, 2017; Dougall & Baum,
2012; Juster et al., 2010; Kiecolt-Glaser & Glaser, 2002).
Results provide preliminary evidence that calmness may
have indirect effects on trajectories of physical symptoms
and chronic conditions through concomitant changes in
perceived stress and depressive symptoms. These findings
imply that calmness may facilitate adaptation to
uncontrollable life circumstances in old age by buffering
against increases in perceived stress and depressive
symptoms, which may in turn protect against steep declines
in physical health.
The pattern of results for individual differences in
excitement was notably different. High levels of excitement
were (a) not associated with changes in stress and chronic
conditions and (b) associated with (marginal) increases in
depressive and physical symptoms. These findings align with
DEA theory which proposes that the adaptive value of
discrete emotions changes across the adult lifespan
(Kunzmann et al., 2014; Kunzmann & Wrosch, 2018).
Results suggest the benefits of excitement may diminish in
late life considering the mismatch between its motivational
functions (pursuit of novel goals) and the developmental
context which commonly involves increasing age-related
constraints (Baltes & Smith, 2003; Schulz & Heckhausen,
1996).
Excitement associations were not moderated by
perceived control. This was contrary to our premise that
excitement may be more detrimental for low control
individuals who experience more age-related constraints
relative to their high control counterparts. Our findings thus
suggest that excitement may be associated with neutral
(perceived stress, chronic conditions) or marginally
maladaptive (depressive and physical symptoms) trajectories
of well-being and health, irrespective of control levels. This
result may be due to the relatively poor fit between its
motivational functions and the widespread experience of (at
least some) developmental losses in late life (Baltes & Smith,
2003; Gerstorf et al., 2010; Smith & Baltes, 1997).
Limitations and Future Directions
Although the present studies advance the emotional
aging literature in providing evidence for the differential
salience and consequences of discrete positive emotions,
they are not without limitations. Despite the fact that Study
2 was based on a 10-year longitudinal design, both studies
were correlational in nature and based on moderately sized
samples which preclude making strong causal inferences
(Shadish, Cook, & Campbell, 2002). Further research

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
14
involving representative samples and experimental designs
are needed to draw causal conclusions.
The present studies employed a daily diary design and
assessed one-item measures of each emotion across multiple
days over the course of one week. Future research is needed
to substantiate our results using alternate methodologies to
assess emotions, such as ecological momentary assessment.
Neither study contained data on the Big Five. Future research
should consider the role of personality traits, such as
conscientiousness, in shaping age-related shifts in calmness
and excitement. Another limitation is that Study 2 MAHS
data contained only a single-item measure of perceived
control, although we note that previous research provides
evidence for its validity (Lachman & Weaver, 1998).
Although calmness and excitement were assessed using the
same methodology (daily diaries) across studies, we note that
ratings were averaged over different time periods in Study 1
(a single 1-week period) and Study 2 (five 1-week periods
over 10 years). Further research is needed to supplement the
present individual difference (trait-like) approach to examine
whether similar patterns of emotional salience and adaptive
value are observed when focusing on state assessments of
calmness and excitement. Future studies should also consider
the health-related consequences of longitudinal changes over
time in calmness and excitement.
We note that our samples did not include middle-aged
adults. Future longitudinal research should examine age-
related changes in the salience and adaptive value of
calmness and excitement across the entire adult lifespan.
This would permit a fine-grained assessment of the nature
and shape of age-related trajectories of these discrete
emotions (cf. Kunzmann, Richter, & Schmukle, 2013). For
instance, excitement may exhibit linear declines from young
adulthood to old age, whereas calmness may increase
steadily from young adulthood to early old age and then
begin to decline towards the very end of life. This possibility
would be consistent with other age-related psychological
processes, such as well-being, which typically increase
throughout most of the lifespan but exhibit strong terminal
declines (e.g., Gerstorf et al., 2010).
Future research is also needed to examine the
motivational effects of calmness and excitement, which are
respectively posited to facilitate (a) a broad and present-
focused mindset linked to rest, recovery, and goal adjustment
or (b) an implementational and future-focused mindset
linked to pursuit of novelty, stimulation, and active goal
engagement (Gilbert, 2014; Harmon-Jones et al., 2013;
Izard, 1977). Further mechanistic research is also needed to
build on our initial study that extended DEA theory to
positive emotions and focused on the differential salience
and adaptive health value of calmness and excitement.
Research is needed to systematically evaluate how the
theorized motivation functions and physiological profiles of
calmness and excitement may underlie the emotion-health
associations observed in our study. Future research would
also do well to examine the relationship between calmness
and coping (cf. Folkman & Moskowitz, 2000). Calmness
may protect against steep declines in health well-being, in
part, due to its potential to foster positive reappraisal for
older adults who encounter intractable life stressors.
Another important direction will be to examine the role
of calmness and excitement in relation to other important
developmental outcomes that exhibit age-related changes,
such as physical activity and cognitive functioning. It is
possible that a combination (mixture) of calmness and
excitement may contribute to adaptive development in the
case of these outcomes (cf., Ong, Benson, Zautra, & Ram,
2018). Future studies should also examine sociodemographic
moderators of the observed relationships considering that
calmness may be more beneficial for older adults who
experience additional constraints due to socioeconomic
disparities (cf., Hittner, Rim & Haase, 2019). Finally, we
acknowledge that a comprehensive discrete emotions theory
would address additional positive emotions. Informed by
DEA theory, we felt that it was a reasonable first step to focus
on two emotions (calmness, excitement) that are clearly
distinct from an action theoretical perspective. However,
future studies are needed to further expand DEA theory and
examine whether age-related changes in salience and
adaptive value emerge for other discrete positive emotions as
well. We would not assume that all discrete positive
emotions differ across the adult lifespan in salience and
adaptive value (cf. Study 1 findings on pride). It will thus
also be important to investigate the mechanisms that underlie
similarities across age groups (developmental stability) in
certain discrete positive emotions since this will contribute
to a better understanding of the complex dynamics involved
in emotional aging.
Conclusion
Results of the present studies suggest that calmness, but
not excitement, becomes paramount in old age. Study 1
showed that older adults reported higher levels of calmness
and lower levels of excitement relative to younger adults.
Findings from Study 2 provide evidence that these
differences in salience have adaptive value for older adults,
particularly among those experiencing uncontrollable life
circumstances. Individual differences in calmness, but not

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
15
excitement, buffered against increases in perceived stress,
depressive symptoms, physical symptoms, and chronic
conditions over a 10-year period for older adults with low
control. These findings advance theories of emotional aging
in contributing to a better understanding of discrete positive
emotions that may become more or less adaptive as people
age.
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Author Note
This study was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of
Health Research (CIHR) to Carsten Wrosch, postdoctoral
fellowships to Jeremy M. Hamm from CIHR and the Fonds de
recherche Santé Quebec, and Grant KU 1267/9-1 from the German
Research Foundation to Ute Kunzmann. Correspondence should be
addressed to: Jeremy M. Hamm, Department of Psychology, North
Dakota State University, 1210 Albrecht Blvd, Fargo ND, 58102,
USA. E-mail: jeremy.hamm@ndsu.edu. Parts of this research were
presented at the online Gerontological Society of America Annual
Scientific Meeting, November 2020.

Running head: CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
19
Table 1
Study 1 Multilevel Models Predicting Levels of Calmness and Excitement
Calmness Average Level
(Intercept)
Excitement Average Level
(Intercept)
Predictor variables
b (SE)
Z
b (SE)
Z
Level-1
1.80 (.063)
28.45**
0.66 (.053)
12.29**
Level-2
Old (vs. young)
0.29 (.133)
2.19*
-0.35 (.115)
-3.01**
Female
-0.22 (.129)
-1.69
-0.19 (.116)
-1.64
SES
0.06 (.097)
0.54
-0.01 (.068)
-0.19
Note. Analyses controlled for person-centered time at Level-1. No changes in time were observed over the 7-day study
period for either calmness or excitement (ps > .10). Level-1 residual variances (rij) for calmness and excitement were
1.06 and 0.72 respectively (ps < .01). Level-2 predictors were grand-mean centered to facilitate interpretation.
†p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
20
Table 2
Study 2 Multilevel Growth Models Predicting Levels and 10-Year Change in Perceived Stress
Perceived Stress
Average level
(Intercept)
Yearly change
(Slope)
Predictor variables
b (SE)
Z
b (SE)
Z
Level-1
2.46 (.023)
106.94**
0.02 (.006)
3.37**
Level-2
Age
-0.00 (.003)
-1.14
-0.00 (.001)
-0.71
Female
-0.00 (.048)
-0.06
-0.02 (.011)
-2.06*
SES
-0.11 (.034)
-3.18**
0.00 (.008)
0.37
Calmness
-0.24 (.029)
-8.37**
-0.02 (.008)
-3.10**
Excitement
0.10 (.037)
2.72**
0.00 (.009)
0.37
Perceived control (PC)
-0.19 (.016)
-12.17**
0.01 (.004)
2.17*
Calmness x PC
-0.01 (.017)
-0.81
0.01 (.005)
2.10*
Excitement x PC
0.03 (.027)
1.08
0.00 (.007)
0.37
Note. Time was person-centered to examine changes in perceived stress across years. Level-2 predictors were grand-
mean centered to facilitate interpretation.
†p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
21
Table 3
Study 2 Multilevel Growth Models Predicting Levels and 10-Year Change in Depressive Symptoms
Depressive Symptoms
Average level
(Intercept)
Yearly change
(Slope)
Predictor variables
b (SE)
Z
b (SE)
Z
Level-1
1.29 (0.036)
35.44**
0.03 (.009)
3.36**
Level-2
Age
0.00 (.005)
0.66
0.00 (.002)
0.17
Female
-0.03 (.072)
-0.42
-0.01 (.019)
-0.71
SES
-0.19 (.056)
-3.35**
-0.01 (.013)
-0.65
Calmness
-0.36 (.046)
-7.81**
-0.02 (.013)
-1.58
Excitement
0.10 (.070)
1.47
0.03 (.017)
1.89†
Perceived control (PC)
-0.25 (.023)
-10.51**
0.01 (.007)
1.24
Calmness x PC
0.05 (.027)
1.78†
0.02 (.008)
2.00*
Excitement x PC
-0.05 (.055)
-0.97
-0.02 (.011)
-1.50
Note. Time was person-centered to examine changes in depressive symptoms across years. Level-2 predictors were
grand-mean centered to facilitate interpretation.
†p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
22
Table 4
Study 2 Multilevel Growth Models Predicting Levels and 10-Year Change in Physical Symptoms
Physical Symptoms
Average level
(Intercept)
Yearly change
(Slope)
Predictor variables
b (SE)
Z
b (SE)
Z
Level-1
2.29 (.103)
22.33**
0.05 (.017)
2.96**
Level-2
Age
0.01 (.015)
0.65
0.00 (.004)
1.19
Female
0.63 (.202)
3.10**
-0.02 (.035)
-0.54
SES
-0.16 (.156)
-1.04
0.00 (.022)
0.08
Calmness
-0.35 (.142)
-2.46*
-0.03 (.022)
-1.46
Excitement
0.09 (.168)
0.53
0.06 (.034)
1.75†
Perceived control (PC)
-0.28 (.064)
-4.41**
-0.02 (.010)
-2.13*
Calmness x PC
0.13 (.082)
1.63
0.03 (.015)
1.94†
Excitement x PC
0.04 (.114)
0.34
-0.01 (.020)
-0.34
Note. Time was person-centered to examine changes in physical symptoms across years. Level-2 predictors were
grand-mean centered to facilitate interpretation.
†p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
23
Table 5
Study 2 Multilevel Growth Models Predicting Levels and 10-Year Change in Chronic Conditions
Chronic Conditions
Average level
(Intercept)
Yearly change
(Slope)
Predictor variables
b (SE)
Z
b (SE)
Z
Level-1
2.66 (.097)
27.30**
0.06 (.015)
3.79**
Level-2
Age
0.04 (.014)
2.81**
0.01 (.003)
2.49*
Female
-0.30 (.200)
-1.50
-0.01 (.030)
-0.32
SES
-0.27 (.136)
-1.99*
-0.01 (.022)
-0.46
Calmness
-0.19 (.128)
-1.44
-0.02 (.019)
-1.06
Excitement
0.03 (.143)
0.23
0.02 (.025)
0.77
Perceived control (PC)
-0.15 (.066)
-2.30*
-0.01 (.010)
-0.70
Calmness x PC
0.12 (.080)
1.54
0.02 (.012)
2.00*
Excitement x PC
-0.07 (.118)
-0.55
-0.02 (.018)
-0.88
Note. Time was person-centered to examine changes in depressive symptoms across years. Level-2 predictors were
grand-mean centered to facilitate interpretation.
†p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
24
Figure 1. Study 2 Calmness x Perceived Control interactions predicting the time slopes of perceived stress (A) and
depressive symptoms (B). Calmness x Perceived Control interactions on the time slopes can be conceptualized as
three-way, cross-level interactions (i.e., Calmness x Perceived Control x Time). Simple slopes of time are presented
at low (-1 SD) and high (+1 SD) levels of calmness and perceived control.
0 2 4 6 8 10
2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Time (Years)
Perceived Stress
Low Calm−Low Control
High Calm−Low Control
Low Calm−High Control
High Calm−High Control
A
0 2 4 6 8 10
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
Time (Years)
Depressive Symptoms
Low Calm−Low Control
High Calm−Low Control
Low Calm−High Control
High Calm−High Control
B

CALMNESS AND EXCITEMENT IN OLD AGE
25
Figure 2. Study 2 Calmness x Perceived Control interactions predicting the time slopes of physical symptoms (A) and
chronic conditions (B). Calmness x Perceived Control interactions on the time slopes can be conceptualized as three-
way, cross-level interactions (i.e., Calmness x Perceived Control x Time). Simple slopes of time are presented at low
(-1 SD) and high (+1 SD) levels of calmness and perceived control.
0 2 4 6 8 10
1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
Time (Years)
Physical Symptoms
Low Calm−Low Control
High Calm−Low Control
Low Calm−High Control
High Calm−High Control
0 2 4 6 8 10
2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Time (Years)
Chronic Conditions
Low Calm−Low Control
High Calm−Low Control
Low Calm−High Control
High Calm−High Control
A B