Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

This entry describes a life-span theory of motivation that offers an explanatory framework and testable hypotheses about the ways in which perceived endings affect goals, preferences, and even cognitive processing. Because aging is associated with time left in life, the theory predicts reliable age differences in these domains. Socioemotional Selectivity Theory maintains, however, that such age differences reflect differences in perceived time horizons more than chronological age. Studies testing the theory have found similar patterns in younger people who face endings through terminal illness, wars, or even geographical relocations.

According to the theory, temporal horizons direct two overarching sets of goals that govern much of human social behavior. One set of goals concerns the acquisition of knowledge, whereas another concerns the regulation of emotional states. Both sets of goals activate behavior across the life span, but the relative importance and priority placed on them varies as a function of time horizons.

The theory posits that when time is perceived as expansive, informational goals assume dominance. Under these temporal conditions, people are motivated to plan for seemingly unlimited futures. Potential social partners are selected based on the potential for new information and future opportunities. Cognitive resources are allocated to these goals. People who prioritize information-related goals attend to all sorts of information in their environments because even information that is not immediately relevant could become important in the future. Banking information takes precedence over emotional satisfaction. For example, learning one's place in the social hierarchy may be useful for social interaction even if it is relatively bad news. Similarly, when the future is perceived as long, people may invest in even taxing efforts if they may pay off in the future. As temporal horizons diminish, the relative importance of information-related goals decreases. When future time is constrained, emotion-related goals grow in importance. Emotional well-being takes priority over gaining new information. People engage in strategies aimed at optimizing well-being, especially decreasing the experience of negative emotions. Just as people select emotionally meaningful social partners over others because of the emotional satisfaction they derive from them, they direct their attention toward positive stimuli and away from negative stimuli in an effort to ensure well-being.