Abstract
Emotional complexity, as seen in covariation between retrospective judgments of positive and negative affects, has shown mixed evidence. We propose that emotional complexity may remain intact or even increase in old age, and yet it decreases in light of functional deterioration shortly before death.
We used 3 large-scale databases: 2 cross-sectional (SHARE, N=17,437, Mage=64; HRS, N =6,032, Mage=67) and 1 longitudinal (CALAS, N=1,310, Mage= 83). Hierarchical multiple regressions and multilevel models showed that respondents who perceived themselves as closer to death or were actually closer to death showed lower emotional complexity (a stronger negative correlation between positive and negative affects). Age and emotional complexity were unrelated or positively related, depending on the sample. The results indicate that both subjective and objective closeness to death are associated with lower emotional complexity. This death-related decrease in emotional complexity is discussed within current theories of aging.