The ways that individuals experience time, specifically as it relates to prioritizing the present versus the future, have played foundational roles in economics and psychology.

Traditionally, both disciplines have viewed individuals’ time preferences as time-independent and stable. In this paper, we examine principles such as time consistency and rational expectations through the lens of socioemotional selectivity theory. We argue that preferences change as personal time horizons shrink, and rewards related to emotional meaning in the present are prioritized over rewards that play out in the future. This manifests in older individuals’ preferences for emotionally meaningful experiences over activities that promote learning and exploration. Because goals direct cognitive resources, individuals with shorter time horizons also direct cognitive resources and attention away from negative information and towards positive information. Shifting goals and changes in cognitive preferences have wide-ranging implications for aging research and policy development.

个人体验时间的方式，特别是与优先考虑现在和未来有关的方式，在经济学和心理学中发挥了基础性作用。

传统上，这两个学科都将个人的时间偏好视为与时间无关且稳定的。在本文中，我们通过社会情感选择性理论的视角来检验时间一致性和理性预期等原则。我们认为，随着个人时间范围的缩小，偏好会发生变化，并且与当前情感意义相关的奖励优先于未来发挥作用的奖励。这体现在老年人更喜欢有情感意义的体验，而不是促进学习和探索的活动。因为目标引导认知资源，所以具有较短时间范围的个人也会引导认知资源和注意力从负面信息转向正面信息。