The world’s population is aging. Taking Hong Kong as an example, The number of people aged 65 years and older is expected to reach 2.37 million (31.1% of the general population) in 2036 (Census and Statistics Department, 2017). Although aging is usually considered lonely and unhappy, numerous studies have found that older adults report better well-being than younger and middle-aged adults. Therefore, how older adults can maintain a high level of well-being despite physical and cognitive declines associated with aging has become a central puzzle in the literature of psychology of aging (Blanchard-Fields, 2007). In this talk, I will present my research findings to address why older adults report better well-being than their younger counterparts and how we may improve well-being for those in need. Based on the socioemotional selectivity theory (Carstensen et al., 1999), I will focus on the role of emotional meaningfulness. In particular, I will present studies from three perspectives that are considered emotionally meaningful in older adulthood, namely, affective processes, volunteering activities, and intergenerational relationships.
Dr. Da JIANG obtained B.Sc. in Psychology from Beijing Normal University, MPhil in Social Science from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and PhD in Psychology from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her work focuses on aging and emotion. She is especially interested in understanding age-related differences in affective processes and their implications on well-being, social activities, and social relationships. She is also interested in investigating cultural differences in affective processes and adulthood development. She has published 29 journal articles and four book chapters. As a lead author, she has published in the top-tier academic journals in the fields of aging and emotion, such as The Gerontologist, Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, and Emotion. Dr. Jiang has received an Early Career Scheme Research Fund (ECS) and a General Research Fund (GRF) as the Principal Investigator. She is also a Co-Principal Investigator on a Collaborative Research Fund (CRF). She received the Student Research Award (Dissertation Level) from the Gerontological Society of America in 2014, and the APS Rising Star Award from American Psychological Society in 2020.
Remarks
- ZOOM link will be sent via email, for HKUST members ONLY
- Please use your HKUST ITSC account to join the zoom meeting.
- This meeting is being recorded. By joining, you are giving consent for this meeting to be recorded.