Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics of Key Study Variables by Age Group
| Younger Adults | Older Adults | |
|---|---|---|
| Variable | M(SD) | M(SD) |
| Goals | ||
| Emotion Regulation | 4.84(1.47) | 4.71(1.83) |
| Social Harmony | 4.58(1.58) | 4.94(1.79) |
| Change the Partner’s Opinions/Behaviors** | 3.41(1.74) | 2.53(1.51) |
| Task Performance*** | 5.80(1.19) | 6.44(0.88) |
| Task and Confederate Appraisals | ||
| Task Enjoyment*** | 3.46(1.10) | 4.04(0.96) |
| Task Performance*** | 3.70(0.74) | 4.15(0.62) |
| Task Difficulty | 2.62(1.11) | 2.51(1.16) |
| Confederate Likeability*** | 2.91(0.96) | 3.60(0.80) |
| Confederate Cooperativeness | 3.81(1.04) | 3.89(0.97) |
| Self-Reported Emotion Regulation Strategies | ||
| Conflict Avoidance† | 3.37(1.06) | 3.71(1.09) |
| Behavioral Disengagement | 1.63(0.69) | 1.59(0.73) |
| Self-Distraction | 1.76(0.69) | 1.83(0.92) |
| Conflict Avoidance/De-Escalation Behaviors | ||
| Moving on to a New Scenario/Topic* | 2.16(1.33) | 1.65(1.54) |
| Reducing the Negativity*** | 3.66(2.37) | 2.15(1.81) |
| Humor* | 2.46(2.74) | 1.65(1.54) |
| Negative Affect | ||
| Baseline* | 1.78(0.70) | 1.51(0.60) |
| Task*** | 2.40(0.94) | 1.84(0.80) |
| Post-Task*** | 1.42(0.38) | 1.15(0.26) |
| Positive Affect | ||
| Baseline*** | 3.37(1.12) | 4.48(1.32) |
| Task*** | 2.98(1.22) | 3.87(1.48) |
| Post-Task*** | 3.27(1.31) | 4.67(1.49) |
| Systolic Blood Pressure | ||
| Baseline*** | 112.95(14.35) | 136.71(20.31) |
| Task*** | 112.49(16.62) | 142.66(19.61) |
| Diastolic Blood Pressure | ||
| Baseline*** | 70.12(8.89) | 81.64(11.46) |
| Task** | 80.01(9.92) | 84.98(11.15) |
| Pulse Rate | ||
| Baseline | 72.77(11.99) | 73.30(10.80) |
| Task** | 79.93(12.08) | 74.51(10.78) |
Note. Asterisks denote significant age group differences.
†
p < .10;
*
p < .05;
**
p < .01;
***
p < .001