Project Details
Projekt
Biopsychosocial Benefits from In-Person Socializing Versus Video-Mediated Contact in Old Age: The Role of Behavioral Mechanisms and Individual Resources
Subject Area
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Term
since 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 533325657
Maintaining close social ties is highly important for late-life adjustment, health, and longevity. However, keeping in touch with people who matter can be impeded by geographical distance or restricted mobility. The proposed project explores the potential of videocalls for tackling this challenge. In an ageing and increasingly digitalized society, videocalls will become more and more important in shaping social relationships well into old age. But how effective are they really in meeting social needs? Socializing offers biopsychosocial benefits (e.g., for hedonic enjoyment, social belonging, and psychophysiological health). However, evidence is accumulating that some of these gains are compromised in videocalls, compared to in-person socializing. We call these differences LIVI (loss in video-mediated interactions) effects. They have been shown in younger adults, but little is known about contributing mechanisms and conditions under which they occur. Moreover, experimental data for older adults is missing to date. Closing these research gaps is important, as older adults may particularly profit from videocalls to sustain social ties, while they may also be particularly affected by LIVI effects. The project has three aims. First, we want provide first experimental evidence for LIVI effects in older adults. To this end, N = 165 older adults (aged 70 years +) will engage in two casual conversations with a close relative in our laboratory in a within-person design: Once, they will talk face to face, and once, via videocall using PC screens. For both sessions, we will assess hedonic experience (positive affect and enjoyment), interpersonal gains (momentary closeness and relationship satisfaction, conversation satisfaction), and autonomic arousal (heart-rate variability). These outcomes are highly relevant for health and longevity, and they may differ by modality (in-person vs. videocalls). Second, we will investigate behavioral differences across conditions, focusing on interpersonal coordination (movement and speech), speaker disclosure, and listener responsiveness. Past research suggests that these factors promote biopsychosocial gains from socializing, and that they differ by modality. They may thus mediate LIVI effects. Third, we want to investigate who is most affected by LIVI effects, by analyzing the role of individual resources for behavioral differences across modalities. Here, we focus on cognitive-mechanic skills, videocall literacy, and age stereotypes, all of which may modulate how much behaviors change across modalities. These resources have in common that they are age-graded but malleable across the entire lifespan. Understanding how they relate to LIVI effects may thus unlock angles for intervention, especially in old age. Pursuing these three aims will allow us to identify beneficial conditions and processes that support desirable biopsychosocial outcomes in older adults – in either modality, but particularly during videocalls.
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