Traditional perspectives on the study of aging and cognition have focused on what has been characterized as “cold cognition.” However, recent theoretical and empirical advances have emphasized the need to examine age differences in the factors that energize and direct cognitive activity (i.e., “hot cognition”). In the present chapter, the roles of goals and motivation are considered in terms of both explaining age differences in performance and characterizing adaptive functioning in later life. As an illustration of goal influences, three different perspectives associated with normative changes in goals across adulthood – social cognitive goals, socioemotional goals, and goal priorities – are discussed, along with their impact on cognition. The impact of aging on motivational processes associated with energizing, directing, and sustaining actions directed toward achieving goals is then considered, using selective engagement as an organizational framework.

Although aging is associated with declines in domains such as physical health and cognitive abilities, a large body of research has provided evidence that older adults still report feeling positive. Prominent theories of emotional aging have suggested that this may be the result of increased emotion regulation abilities with age. Older adults are thought to choose and be more successful at certain strategies compared to younger adults. However, empirical evidence has not consistently supported all of the theoretical predictions. In this chapter, we discuss these predictions and how they relate specifically to aspects of cognitive aging. We will then discuss the evidence that both supports and refutes the claims made by these theories. Finally, we will attempt to reconcile the empirical findings with the theories to evaluate whether what we are seeing is actually age-related improvements, or evidence for stability and maintenance of emotional experience with age.

This chapter considers ways that perceived time – both at the level of seconds and lifetimes – may influence adult development. Research suggests that age-related impairments in divided attention contribute to older adults’ underestimation of short-term duration judgments. A separate literature suggests that perceived constraints on future time lead to the prioritization of emotionally meaningful goals. We consider ways that these two research streams may inform one another. Findings about duration judgments may help to explain age-related time acceleration that affects perceptions of the future. Findings about motivational changes associated with perceived constraints on time may influence attention in ways that reduce accuracy of duration judgments. We urge joint consideration of these literatures in hypothesis generation about developmental trajectories of cognitive processing, motivation, and emotional well-being.