Positive Affect and Cognitive Functioning in Older African American Adults

Previous research has demonstrated a link between affect and cognitive functioning, particularly showing that negative affect is related to lower cognitive performance across several cognitive domains. However, the relationship between positive affect (PA) and cognitive functioning is not as thoroughly characterized, though some previous work suggests that PA may be related to improved memory consolidation and greater cognitive flexibility. There is little research, if any, on the relation between PA and cognition in older adults from diverse racial backgrounds, who are also at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease. PA may be a modifiable factor and target for intervention to deter cognitive decline. Therefore, we investigated whether PA was related to cognitive functioning in a sample of community‐dwelling, older African American adults. We predicted that greater PA would be associated with greater global cognitive functioning, immediate memory recall, and delayed memory recall while controlling for age.