Who saves the best for last? Age differences in preferences for affective sequences.

We examined age differences in preferences for the temporal sequence of emotional events. In 2 studies, participants were asked to select the order in which they would like to view a series of emotionally salient images. Study 1 (N = 87; aged 21-88 years) elicited sequence preferences both directly (via a sequence construction task) and indirectly (via a temporal discounting task). Study 2 (N = 90; aged 21-89 years) used a modified version of the sequence construction task in which the sequence was selected prospectively instead of concurrently. Across both studies, younger participants preferred increasingly positive sequences, but this preference was negatively associated with age. Future time perspective was associated with both age and sequence preferences. In contrast, age differences in sequence preferences were not explained by personality traits, affective responses, or age-related decrements in cognitive functioning.