What are Friends For? The Impact of Friendship on Communicative Efficiency and Cortisol Response during Collaborative Problem Solving Among Younger and Older Women

Authors

Michelle A. Rodrigues, Marquette UniversityFollow
Si On Yoon, University of Iowa
Kathryn B.H. Clancy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Elizabeth A.L. Stine-Morrow, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

Publisher

Taylor & Francis (Routledge)

Source Publication

Journal of Women & Aging

Source ISSN

0985-2841

Abstract

Conversation is a skilled activity that depends on cognitive and social processes, both of which develop through adulthood. We examined the effects of age and partner familiarity on communicative efficiency and cortisol reactivity. Younger and older women interacted with familiar or unfamiliar partners in a dyadic collaborative conversation task (N = 8 in each group). Regardless of age, referential expressions among familiar and unfamiliar partners became more efficient over time, and cortisol concentrations were lower for speakers interacting with familiar partners. These findings suggest that communicative effectiveness is largely preserved with age, as is the stress-buffering effect of a familiar partner.

Comments

Journal of Women & Aging, Vol. 33, No. 4 (2021): 411-427. DOI.

Recommended Citation

Rodrigues, Michelle A.; Yoon, Si On; Clancy, Kathryn B.H.; and Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A.L., "What are Friends For? The Impact of Friendship on Communicative Efficiency and Cortisol Response during Collaborative Problem Solving Among Younger and Older Women" (2021). Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications. 303.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/socs_fac/303