How does aging affect color perception? Are older people able to discriminate brighter colors or softer colors better?
As we age, the lens in our eye begins to absorb and scatter more blue light (it becomes yellower). This causes a decrease in visual sensitivity to shorter wavelengths that make us less sensitive to blue colors and less able to discriminate purple and red colors. There also tends to be more of a negative effect of glare as we age. So really, no colors are discriminated better as people get older and whether brighter or softer colors are preferable would probably depend on the particular person and the illumination and viewing conditions.
