Correlation of the cognitive illusion of age with well-being in adolescence

<p><strong>Context and Relevance.</strong> This article considers one possible correlate of well-being, the cognitive illusion of age. A number of studies have shown the correlation of cognitive illusions of age with either subjective well-being or psychological well-bei...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: A.R. Novikova, Y.A. Sychenko
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Moscow State University of Psychology and Education 2025-06-01
Series:Психолого-педагогические исследования
Online Access:https://psyjournals.ru/en/journals/psyedu/archive/2025_n2/Novikova_Sychenko
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:<p><strong>Context and Relevance.</strong> This article considers one possible correlate of well-being, the cognitive illusion of age. A number of studies have shown the correlation of cognitive illusions of age with either subjective well-being or psychological well-being, studying it in samples with significant age variation. <strong>Objective.</strong> To identify the correlation of the cognitive illusion of age with both subjective and psychological well-being of individuals in adolescence and to establish the variables mediating this correlation. <strong>Hypotheses. </strong>Indicators of subjective and psychological well-being are hypothesized to be significantly higher in adolescents with a negative cognitive illusion of age compared to those with a positive cognitive illusion. Sex and employment are hypothesized to mediate the relationship between the cognitive illusion of age and both subjective and psychological well-being. <strong>Methods and Materials. </strong>The sample consisted of 96 students (M = 19,27, SD = 0,814, where 48% were young men) aged between 18 and 21 years. The following methods were used: &ldquo;Age-of-me&rdquo; (B. Barak); &ldquo;Life Satisfaction Scale&rdquo; (E. Diener); &ldquo;Positive and Negative Affect Schedule&rdquo; (D. Watson, L. Clark, A. Tellegen); &ldquo;Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-being&rdquo;. <strong>Results.</strong> The study found that subjective age overestimation (negative cognitive illusion of age), as opposed to positive cognitive illusion, is correlated with higher indicators of psychological and subjective well-being of a person in adolescence. The hypothesis that sex and employment mediate the correlation between the cognitive illusion of age and well-being was tested. It was found that regardless of sex and work experience, negative cognitive illusion was directly related to higher measures of well-being in young adulthood. <strong>Conclusions. </strong>The results suggest that the negative cognitive illusion of age may contribute to higher levels of both psychological and subjective well-being in adolescence.</p>
ISSN:2587-6139