Social Function and Motivation in the Aging Brain

In this chapter, we review some themes from the emerging literature on the social neuroscience of aging. Much of the research thus far focuses on abilities at the intersection of social function and emotion, such as empathy or thinking about the self or other people. Intriguingly, findings from social and motivational tasks largely depart from the lessons about brain aging derived from cognitive tasks. There are hints that strategy or goal shifts across the life span may underlie some of the age differences, which illustrate the importance of considering task context and motivation across the life span.