Research in the Adult Cognition and Emotion (ACE) Lab at North Carolina State University focuses primarily on socioemotional functioning and emotion-cognition interactions in adulthood and old age. In particular, our research concentrates on the following key aspects:

• Development of Emotion across the Adult Lifespan: Does the nature of emotions change as we age? Is an emotion such as sadness or anger qualitatively the same in each phase of life? Do older adults show the same emotional reactions as young adults do? What are gains and losses in emotional functioning across the adult lifespan? Are older adults more or less aroused by emotional events?
• Age-Related Differences in Emotion-Cognition Interactions: Emotions can influence cognition (e.g., memory, decision-making) and vice versa. The question from the lifespan developmental perspective is: Do interactions between emotions and cognitions change as we age? For example, are there age differences in remembering emotional events?
• Real-World Phenomena of Emotions: We are specifically interested in the emotional processes underlying more complex affect-related constructs such as empathy. What is the nature of empathy in real life situations? How does it change with age?
• Development of Social and Personality Aspects across the Adult Lifespan:We are interested in antecedents and consequences of interindividual differences in socio-emotional and personality aspects in adult development. This includes, for example, the development of the experience of pace of time. How quickly does time pass by for you?