Older Adults' Affect While Watching Television

Recent theory has explored the relationship between daily context and emotion. While suggesting individuals structure daily activities in search of a particular affect state, few attempts have been made to highlight the relationship between a specific activity and emotion. The current study is part of a larger project examining the daily lives of older adults in which the most common leisure pursuit was found to be television (Intrieri, Goodwin, & Papini, 1990). Present analyses explore affect while watching TV in comparison to other activities. Sixty-nine older adults (Mean age = 71.8) participated in a study of daily life utilizing Experience Sampling Methodology. Across a 7-day period, participants responded to 6 signals a day for 42 signals per person. In response to each signal, participants completed a questionnaire containing items related to activity and emotion. Analyses indicate participants exhibit less positive emotion while watching TV than when engaged in other activities (p < .001). Participants also endorsed less negative affect while watching TV than during other activities (though there were no statistically significant differences in negative affect while watching TV and negative affect during all other activities). (C) 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.