SPRING 2025 SEMINARS OF THE ROBERT N. BUTLER COLUMBIA AGING CENTER | Assets of Aging: A Series on the Capabilities that Accrue with Longer Lives

Join us for the Columbia Aging Center’s ONLINE seminar–the next in a series that focuses on the assets of aging and the capabilities that accrue with longer lives. Please register to attend via zoom on February 26, 2025. Details and registration link below.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY  26, 2025, 12:00PM-1:00PM ET

The Silver Lining: The Prosocial Potential of an Aging Population

Enna Chen, MA

PhD Candidate

Department of Psychology

Stanford University

Virtual Seminar

Location: Zoom

Register to attend this virtual seminar via Zoom at: https://columbiacuimc.zoom.us/meeting/register/wuI8IB5RQUOl6RqMfqKJTA

https://tinyurl.com/EnnaChen

Abstract:  As global life expectancy rises and fertility rates fall, the population aged 65 and older is projected to double by 2050. While these demographic shifts pose potential challenges, they may also present opportunities for families, workplaces, and communities, particularly if older adults remain healthy and socially engaged. Research on age-related changes in prosocial tendencies—behaviors that benefit others, such as helping and charitable giving—points to encouraging possibilities of an aging population. In this talk, I review recent findings on the association between age and prosociality, including helping behaviors, volunteering, and charitable giving. I also discuss my ongoing work on older and younger adults’ daily helping behavior and its links to emotions and meaning in life, as well as strategies to promote prosocial engagement across the adult life span. Together, these findings highlight the potential of older adulthood as a period of enriched social contribution.