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Abstract: Background: Psychological views on aging are often captured by self-report quantitative questionnaires. By default, these measures base the assessment on predefined categories and focus on explicit cognitions. Digital technology, such as smartphones is always at hand in everyday life and offers options for ecological momentary assessment of views on aging. Aims: We aimed to systematically study differences in contents and the relative importance of views on aging in different age groups across the life span. By our study, we provide proof of concept for a photo-based assessment method that allows both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Method: We asked young (20–30-yr-old), young-old (50–69-yr-old), and old–old (70-plus-yr-old) participants ( N = 37) to take photographs on what aging means to them. We subjected the resultant 376 photos to a mixed-method content analysis. Results: Seventy-plus participants took more complex, slightly less positive, and more ambivalent pictures. Younger participants' pictures addressed physical changes, whereas 50–69-year-old adults predominantly dealt with issues of lifestyle and engagement. Photos of the 70+ adults had a high prevalence of living environment features. Limitations: Data from this proof-of-concept study should be confirmed in a larger sample, clarifying also the role of further sociodemographic variations (e.g., gender, income). Conclusion: Using photographs to capture images of aging provides insights into the occurrence, the accentuations, and the relative importance of multidimensional and multidirectional views on aging in everyday life across different age groups. The variation in both quantity and quality across different age groups indicates domain-specific foci and hints at age-specific discourses on age and aging. Digital devices, such as smartphones, allow for a highly flexible, nonsuggestive, and virtually nonverbal assessment of views on aging. Findings inform endeavours to promote healthy aging as well as strategies to increase intergenerational dialogue.

Abstract. The importance of the sense of ourselves from within for understanding adaptive behavior and psychopathology has been increasingly recognized during the last decades. Interoception builds the foundation of our embodied self and dysfunctional interoception lies at the core of many psychosomatic disorders. Eating is fundamental for survival with consequences for health and well-being. It is deeply grounded in homoeostatic and allostatic psychophysiological needs and is driven by interoceptive signals of the body. This narrative review summarizes a selection of empirical findings and draws conclusions on the role of interoception in eating behavior, body weight, and eating disorders. Beyond disordered eating behavior, eating disorders are characterized by impairment of the sense of self, with dysfunctional interoception at its core. Predictive coding accounts are addressed to integrate conclusions and to underline the relevance of interventions to modify interoception.

AbstractAge discrimination can undermine older people's motivation to stay engaged with their lives and poses a major challenge to healthy aging. In this article, we review research on age discrimination in different life domains, including health and work. Motivation and health constitute potential antecedents as well as outcomes of age discrimination, with reduced motivation and impaired health increasing the likelihood of becoming a victim of age discrimination, but also resulting from age discrimination. Furthermore, high levels of motivation and health can also serve as buffers against the negative effects of age discrimination. Based on our literature review, we discuss possible strategies aimed at reducing age discrimination. Understanding and combating age discrimination can foster older people's motivation to participate in meaningful activities and promote healthy aging.

AbstractViews on ageing (VoA) have special relevance for the ageing process by influencing health, well-being, and longevity. Although VoA form early in life, so far, most research has concentrated on how VoA affect later middle-aged and older adults. In this theoretical article, we argue that a lifespan approach is needed in order to more fully understand the origins of VoA, how they change over ontogenetic time, and how they shape development across the full breadth of the lifespan. We begin by explicitly linking VoA to fundamental principles of lifespan development. We review existing theories of VoA and discuss their respective contributions and limitations. We then outline a lifespan approach to VoA that integrates existing theories and addresses some of their limitations. We elaborate on three core propositions of a lifespan approach to VoA: (1) VoAdevelopas the result of a dynamic, ongoing, and complex interaction between biological-evolutionary, psychological, and social-contextual factors; however, the relative importance of different sources changes across the lifespan; (2) VoAimpactdevelopment across the whole lifespan; however, different outcomes, mechanisms, and time frames need to be considered in order to describe and understand their effects; and (3) VoA aremultidimensional, multidirectional, and multifunctionalthroughout life, but their complexity, meaning, and adaptivity change across the lifespan. We conclude with recommendations for future lifespan research on VoA.